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LOGAN — On an unseasonably warm November day in Logan, Utah State's offense was anything but hot to start the game against UTEP on Saturday afternoon. The Aggies connected on just one of their first 10 3-point attempts, just a couple of days after they hit only three of 23 against Weber State.
In a game where the threes again weren't falling for Utah State, it was forward Garry Clark who stepped in to shoulder the load offensively. Clark tallied 20 points and 13 rebounds for his fourth double-digit scoring game and third double-double of the season through just four games.
"Garry's got just a tremendous work ethic. He'll be a fan favorite this year, because he just does what he can do," Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun said after the game. "He doesn't play outside of his game. He's just a wonderful kid, plays hard. Good teammate. … I think he'll get better and better. I think he's just scratching the surface."
Clark has been an important piece in the Aggies' offense this season, including in Wednesday's game against Weber State, where he had 13 points and five rebounds despite limited minutes due to foul trouble. Clark's 20 points on Saturday came on 5-6 shooting and 10-16 from the free throw line, both career-highs in makes and attempts from the charity stripe for Clark.
Against the Miners, Clark became a focal point early for Utah State after it became glaringly apparent that the deep ball wasn't going down yet again.
"At this point, we're going to have to play through him. When you don't make threes, you don't make shots, you've got to throw the ball inside," Calhoun said. "That's typically not what we do, but as a coach, you've got to adapt, you've got to adjust. And right now, nobody can guard him in there, so he's going to continue to get the ball."
Despite the size and physicality on the post presented by UTEP, Calhoun's adjustments paid early dividends for the Aggies in the form of 14 first-half points from Clark.
"Coach started running sets for me. He's seen I had mismatches at times, so he got me in the position to get fouls and get to the rim," Clark said. "So, it worked out."
Clark, a fifth-year senior forward from St. Louis, Missouri, is in his first season in Logan after transferring from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this offseason. In two seasons with the Islanders, Clark earned All-Southland Conference honors both seasons and averaged over 14 points and seven rebounds last season.
As the season progressed last year for Calhoun and company, a lack of size and physicality on the interior proved to be an issue. As his staff went into the offseason, getting additional size inside was a focal point.
Between Clark and returning forward Karson Templin, who had a 10-point outing of his own on Saturday, the Aggies hope that this duo can hold it down in the paint throughout the season.
"I love playing out there at the same time. He helps me a lot. He has the same type of energy I have," Clark said of Templin. "He attacks the rim, aggressive for rebounds, and he works hard on defense. So yeah, it's fun playing with him."
After Clark got Utah State going in the first half, the outside game opened up for Aggie shooters in the second half, as they hit four more threes and went on several scoring bursts, including a 13-0 run to slam the door on the Miners.
"It was good to see," Calhoun said on the second half offense. "I thought when we didn't foul, we got rebounds, we could get out and run and make the game simple."
Coming into the season, it wasn't clear how big a role Clark would play on a Calhoun offense that's typically marked by tempo and outside shooting threats. Four games into the season, it's quickly becoming apparent that the Aggie offense will have to rely on Clark to get much of their offense rolling this season.
