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LOGAN — Down to just seven scholarship players and undersized against a lengthy Utah State, Colorado State's best option of slowing down the Aggies' dynamic offense was showing a zone defense.
The plan worked for a half, as the Rams limited the Aggies' dribble drive offense and penetration and kept it a one-score game through 20 minutes.
But Steven Ashworth and the Aggies were too lethal to be contained for an entire game.
Finding ample room to hoist his jumper in the gaps of the Ram's zone, Ashworth got the hot hand and drilled six second-half 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 26 points.
The team totaled 18 made 3-pointers, and Utah State outlasted Colorado State 88-79 in Fort Collins, snagging an elusive Mountain West road victory to climb into a three-way tie for second place in the conference.
"First time we played against a zone for 40 minutes in the game this season," Utah State head coach Ryan Odom said. "We were a little bit concerned going in, just because we hadn't had a lot of reps against it, and just a one-day prep. But I thought our guys did a really good job of handling it well, and it certainly always helps when you make shots."
Taking what the zone gave them, the looks at the rim were limited throughout the game, but the 3-point line was open all night for Utah State. Out of the 56 shots the Aggies attempted, a season high 39 of them were 3-pointers. After hitting just six out of 18 3's in the first half, they heated up and hit 12 in the second.
Due to the effort of Isaiah Stevens (25 points) and John Tonje (20 points), the Aggies needed every last one of them, too. The Rams pushed the Aggies throughout the second half and cut a 12-point lead down to six with 43 seconds to play. But the Aggies, who built a double-digit lead thanks, in part, to three straight 3-pointers from Ashworth, got two stops late to prevail for the win.
"I mean, what are we? We're one of the best shooting teams in the country," said Taylor Funk, who finished with 21 points. "We got the best shooter in the country on our team (in Ashworth). I think every shot we took was great. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don't — live or die. But this team likes to live by them."
The Aggies opened the game 4-of-5 from beyond the arc to leap out to a 13-2 lead three minutes into the game. But Colorado State responded with a 16-0 run of their own. The Rams' zone limited the Aggies' dribble drive and forced them into eight first-half turnovers and nine straight missed 3's; Tonje finished with 13 points at the other end to keep the score 33-32 at halftime.
Utah State figured things out in the second half, though. The Aggies benefitted off two offensive rebounds, and Ashworth and Funk both buried second-chance 3-pointers to take a 42-34 lead to open the half. Ashworth later added three 3-pointers over a two-minute period to lead 71-58.
Utah State couldn't pullaway, however, thanks to the effort of Stevens. He finished with 21 second-half points and carved the visitors on mid-range jumpers off the pick and roll to cut Utah State's lead to eight with 3:37 remaining.
"They have a dynamite guard in Stevens," Odom said. "He's really good in that middle third, and it's really tough to deal with."
Ashworth's hot hand didn't diminish, though. With three minutes left to play, he hit his sixth 3-pointer of the half from NBA-range to build an 80-69 lead, large enough the Ram's couldn't recover.
It's Utah State's third straight conference win, but the stakes get bigger moving forward. Utah State improves to 8-3 in Mountain West play, with a chance to tie San Diego State (9-2) for first place inside the Spectrum on Wednesday night.
"We're not pleased with ourselves," Odom said. "We have a lot of games left. We're excited about the opportunity to play a really good San Diego State team at home on Wednesday."
