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LOGAN — Marcus Shaver Jr. hadn't hit a shot all game.
He missed all 10 attempts he shot Thursday night in the Spectrum, and it looked like Boise State's leading scorer wouldn't get on the board.
But with the Boise State and Utah State tied up in the waning seconds of the game, Shaver stepped up when it mattered most and drained the game winning 3-pointer with 1.7 left to clinch a 62-59 win over the Aggies.
It's been that type of season for Utah State.
The Aggies lost yet another game in the waning minutes and have now dropped four straight games on the season.
"I guess I know how the Jazz feel when MJ hit that (shot) at the end," Steven Ashworth said. "Similar feeling, but I guess less of a scale.
"Tough," he added. "That's the word to describe the night."
Justin Bean's final heave — perhaps launched after the buzzer sounded — marks the fourth time Utah State has lost at home this season by single digits while having a chance to tie or win the game with a shot at the horn.
Traditionally, the Spectrum has been one of the toughest arenas to play in nationally, but this season it has become a place where visiting teams can walk in, take the momentum, suffocate the air out of the building, and stride up the steep arena tunnels into the locker room with a victory.
The Aggies, who were without Rylan Jones (concussion), are now 2-6 in one-possession games. Each conference game this season has been a one-possession game within the final minute of play.
"We're in a season right now, a season within a season," head coach Ryan Odom said. "And we're growing, we're getting a little bit better. Obviously, we have a lot of stuff going on. Brock's still out, Rylan's out, RJ (Etyle-Rock) was out, now he's back. There's just a lot of stuff, you know, happening within our team, and credit to our guys for sticking together and giving ourselves a chance to win basically each of these games."
Despite being short-handed, the Aggies were aided by the return of Etyle-Rock, who was out due to COVID-19. Coming off the bench, the senior guard didn't play like someone who had a respiratory illness the past week; he was aggressive and attacked the paint, and finished 8 of 8 from the free-throw line for a total of 14 points.
Bean went 6 of 16 from the field and knocked down two 3-pointers to match Etyle-Rock's team-high of 14 points. He also collected 12 rebounds to record his 12th double-double of the season.
Utah State, who led by as much as 7 points in the second half, could never quite pull away from the Broncos. With Shaver having a poor shooting night — Odom credited to Ashworth's defense — starting forward Mladen Armus picked up the slack.
Armus finished with a game-high 22 points and 19 rebounds. The 6-foot-10, 240-pound Serbian was a nightmare in the paint for the Aggies. For the game, Boise State outrebounded Utah State 43-38 and collected 16 offensive rebounds that turned into 23 second-chance points.
"He's a beast. I mean, that guy is a beast," Odom said. "He just waits right down by the rim. Ball comes off, he's got a great nose for it; he's physical. And you know, can we change two or three of those?"
Odom subbed in Trevin Dorius with just over seven minutes left to play to combat Armus, who gave the Broncos a 3-point lead. And it's where the game changed.
The night hadn't started great for the junior center. In the first half, Dorius went to check into the game, but as he took his warmup clothes off and ran to the scorer's table, he soon realized he was missing his jersey and was forced to sprint to the locker room.
But down the stretch he was dialed in — jersey and all — and held Armus from scoring for the duration of the game. In that time, Utah State went on a 6-0 run, capped off by a tip-in by Dorius to give Utah State a 3-point lead with 5:38 to play.
The Broncos then took over as Emmanuel Akot hit a step-back 3-pointer with 52 seconds remaining to tie the game at 59-59. After a mid-range shot from Bean missed, Shaver came down the court and nailed the dagger.
"I felt like I did a great job all night on him. But you know, I even told him after the shot went in that, you know, tough shot," Ashworth said. "And sometimes it's the way it goes."
Utah State, which once again didn't have a great shooting night, finished by shooting 20 of 52 from the field and 4 of 18 from 3-point range. The Aggies had the lead and the momentum from 7,548 fans in attendance, but they couldn't get it done.
