It was enough though, as the Ags held the Wildcats to a 33.3 percent shooting performance from the field and a 10 percent performance from the 3-point line. The Aggies (1-0) continue their season-opening road trip against the Utah Utes (0-1) tonight in Salt Lake City.
The Utes did not enjoy the same success in their home opener that the Aggies did, losing to the Idaho Vandals, 94-87. The Utes were the victim of a well-balanced Vandal attack, as the Idaho bench scored more than half of the team’s points with 49.
The Utes shot 48.5 percent from the field but couldn’t match the Vandals 47.6 percent 3-point shooting. In the Utes loss to Idaho, freshman center Jason Washburn led the team with 20 points, and freshman guard Marshall Henderson was close behind with 18 points of his own.
The Ags led most of the game against the Utes in the Spectrum last year. Jared Quayle hit a 3-point shot to put the Aggies up by 11 with 6:40 left in the game, but the Utes came storming back with an 18-7 run. Ute guard Carlon Brown hit a layup with 29 seconds left to tie the game at 64.
The Aggies took a time-out and on the ensuing possession, Quayle missed a jumper that went out of bounds off the Utes. The Ags took another time-out, and Newbold missed a jumper off the in-bounds play, but Tai Wesley was there for a tip-in layup with 0.1 seconds left, giving Utah State the victory, 66-64.
In 2007, the two teams met in Salt Lake City and the Utes blew-out the Ags, 72-48. The Utes held Utah State to a mere 37 percent from a field and 23.5 percent from the 3-point line. Aggie stand-outs Jaycee Carroll and Gary Wilkinson combined for 23 points on the night and the rest of the team only outscored the duo by two.
The Utes did not have trouble on offense, hitting 53.7 percent of their shots from the field and 50 percent from the 3-point line. Center Luke Neville led the way for the Utes with 20 points and senior forward Kim Tillie chipped in 16 of his own.
The Utes are averaging 85 points over their first two games, and their opponents have averaged 82 points per game. Utah State is averaging 72 points per game, but Aggies opponents are only averaging 50 points per game.
The Aggies have not been victorious in the Huntsman Center since 2001, when they beat the Utes, 58-57. The Aggies were stingy on defense that night, allowing the Utes to shoot only 38 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from the 3-point line.
If the Ags want a victory tonight they need similar defensive outing to stop the high-octane Ute offense. The Ags will also need a better bench performance and better game overall from junior forward Tai Wesley, who finished with four points, two blocks and two steals against Weber State.
Game time is at 6 p.m. in the Huntsman Center.
– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu