- Utah State men's basketball defeated Weber State 83-73 on Wednesday night.
- The Aggies struggled but managed to secure the win with a strong second half.
- Karson Templin led USU with 16 points as both teams faced foul troubles.
LOGAN — By no means was it pretty, and the heavily favored Aggies had to claw and scratch for everything Wednesday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
But in the end, the Utah State men's basketball team was able to hold off Weber State, 83-73, in front of 9,124 fans.
There were no field goals over last five minutes of the game as it became a foul-fest, as well as both team struggled to find the bottom of the net. There were 43 total fouls called.
The Aggies (3-0) came into the game as 22.5-point favorites against the Wildcats (1-2), but never really got close to being up by that much. There were seven lead changes and six ties in the game on Stew Morrill Court.
USU had four players record double digits in the scoring department. Karson Templin led the way with 16 points. He was joined by Kolby King (15), Garry Clark (13) and Mason Falslev (10). King grabbed a team-best eight rebounds, while Drake Allen and Elijah Perryman each dished out three assists. Allen did not play in the second half, having injured an ankle just before the break
Aggie guard MJ Collins Jr. had led the team in scoring in both games, averaging 22.5 points a game, but finished with seven on Wednesday night. Clark also had his double-double streak end as he fouled out with 3:54 to play and had five boards.
Weber State was led by former Aggie Nigel Burris, who had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Trevor Henning actually led the Wildcats in scoring with 19 points, while Jace Whiting and David Hansen each netted 10 points.
USU came into the game trying to cut down on turnovers and did with just six for the game. However, the Aggies struggled mightily from 3-point land, making just 3 of 23 for the game.
USU was able to turn 13 Wildcat turnovers into 18 points.
It took the Aggies nearly two minutes to get on the scoreboard Wednesday night, getting a pair of free throws from Allen. The Wildcats had already scored five points and led for the first 10 minutes of the contest.
Weber State scored another five straight to build a 12-4 advantage four-and-a-half minutes into the game. Burris completed a three-point play to give the visitors their largest lead of the first half.
A rebound bucket by Clark sparked a 7-0 run by USU. King scored on a fast break to pull the Aggies within 12-11 with 13:33 left in the opening half.
Clark gave USU its first lead, 19-17, with a hook shot at the 9:41 mark of the first half.
Anderson made four free throws, and Falslev turned a steal into a one-handed dunk as the Aggies scored six straight points and seemed to be rolling despite not making a 3-pointer. Falslev gave the hosts their largest lead of the first half, 27-21, with a pair of free throws with 7:49 until the break.
The Wildcats clawed back with an 8-2 surge that took more than three minutes as USU came up empty on five possessions. Henning scored in the paint to knot the game up at 31-31 with 3:22 left in the first half.
Templin scored eight of his 10 first half points over the final three minutes. After the first 20 minutes, it was still anybodies game as the teams went to the locker room tied at 41-41.
USU missed all nine of its attempts from long range in the first half, while Weber State was 4 of 14 from beyond the arc. There were 23 fouls called over the first 20 minutes with 12 on the Wildcats and 11 on the Aggies as both teams spent time at the foul line. USU was 15 of 20 in free throws, while Weber State was 11 of 14.
Collins hit the first trey of the game for the Aggies two minutes into the second half. The shot from long range also capped a 7-0 run and gave the hosts a 50-44 lead.
Then King heated up. He had seven points during a 9-0 run by the Aggies. Drilling a 3-pointer off a pass from Jordy Barnes to give the hosts their largest lead to that point, 64-50, with 12:23 to play.
Weber State got within 10 with 8:46, but then the Aggies got rolling again. Clark scored off a pass from Collins and Perryman threw down a one-handed jam on a break off a pass from King. Tucker Anderson made a 3-pointer to give USU its largest lead of the game, 77-62, with 7:24 to play.
The Wildcats refused to wild, however, and scored six straight points to get back to single digits. Burris threw down a dunk and made a pair of free throws to pull Weber State within 77-68 with six minutes left in the contest.
A three-point play by Templin at the 5:06 mark was the final bucket by either team. It gave the Aggies a 81-68 lead.
USU would not score again until there were 18.8 seconds to play when Perryman made a pair of free throws. The Wildcats could not take advantage.
