Utah State Beats Nevada,
72-61,
To Stay Atop WAC Standings
Aggies Remain Unbeaten In Conference Play;
10th-Straight 20-Win Season
Jan. 29, 2009
Jan. 29, 2009
LOGAN, Utah - A 17-0 scoring spurt plus a resolute defensive effort of going seven and a half minutes without yielding a field goal was Utah State's recipe for success in the Aggies' 72-61 win against Nevada Thursday night in a Western Athletic Conference showdown between the league's top two teams.
A raucous Dee Glen Smith Spectrum crowd plus a season-high tying 15 points from junior guard Stavon Williams and 22 points from sophomore forward Tai Wesley was just icing on the cake for the Aggies as USU improved to 20-1 overall and remained perfect with an 8-0 WAC ledger. This is the Aggies' 10th-straight 20-win season and the 25th time in school history to reach the 20-win plateau.
Utah State also tied its best start in school history, matching the 2003-04 squad's 20-1 start to a season, as the 2008-09 edition of the Aggies won their 15th game in a row, the third-longest streak in school history and presently tying No. 18 St. Mary's for the longest win streak in the country as St. Mary's was taking on No. 25 Thursday night. USU is also tied with Oklahoma for the best record and the most wins in the nation.
Nevada had its five-game win streak halted and the Wolf Pack is now 12-8 overall and 5-2 in WAC action.
Thursday was USU's ninth win in the last 13 meetings with Nevada, and the Aggies now hold a 26-11 series lead, including 14-2 at home.
Home has been sweet for USU, which won its 29th-straight home game Thursday, the second-longest streak in the nation behind the 35 in a row by Kansas.
Junior guard Jared Quayle added 14 points, while tying game highs with three steals and three assists. Wesley netted 16 points in the second half, while Williams tallied 12 of his after halftime, logging his first double-digit outing since Dec. 20 at Idaho State.
Williams hit back-to-back three-pointers as part of the Aggies' 17-0 streak that took them from down 45-43 to up 60-45 in a six minute span. Nevada went 6:17 without a point and 7:34 without a field goal, as Utah State led by as much as 16 at 62-46 with 3:31 to go before the Wolf Pack whittled the deficit down to nine with 37 seconds left, but USU hit four free throws to ice the win.
Nevada was led by 18 points from Armon Johnson while Luke Babbitt tossed in 17 points and Brandon Fields added 11.
Babbitt pulled down a game-high seven rebounds, while Wesley led USU with six boards, as Nevada had a 35-33 rebounding edge.
Utah State led 9-7 with 13:47 to play before Nevada took over, leading by as much as seven points on three different occasions, the last at 32-25 with 2:24 to go in the first half on a Johnson jumper, before USU cut the gap to 34-30 at halftime.
Wesley scored the first six points of the second half, giving the Aggies their first lead since 9-7 at 36-34 just over three minutes into the second stanza, part of 11 straight points by Wesley. Johnson later hit consecutive jumpers to give Nevada its last lead of the night at 45-43 with 10:55 to play, setting up USU's scoring frenzy for the win.
The Aggies shot 50.0 percent (10-of-20) from the field in the second half while the Wolf Pack shot just 10-of-32 (31.3 percent) after intermission. USU finished at 42.0 percent (21-of-50) field goal shooting while Nevada was 23-of-58 (39.7 percent).
Utah State was 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) behind the three-point arc while Nevada was 7-of-14 (50.0 percent) from three-point range.
A big difference on the night was at the free throw line, where the Wolf Pack shot a paltry 57.1 percent (8-of-14) while the Aggies were 80.0 percent (24-of-30).
The Associated Press
Published: January 30, 2009
Published: January 30, 2009
LOGAN, Utah: Tai Wesley scored 22 points, 17 of them in the second half, to lead Utah State past Nevada 72-61 Thursday night.
Stavon Williams scored 15 for the Aggies (20-1, 8-0 Western Athletic Conference), and Jared Quayle added 14.
The Wolf Pack (12-8, 5-2) were paced by Armon Johnson with 18 points. Luke Babbitt added 17 and pulled down a game-high seven rebounds. Brandon Fields had 11 points for Nevada.
After trailing by four points at halftime, Utah State took its first lead of the game, 36-34, when Wesley scored the first six points of the second half. Wesley would eventually score the first 11 points for the Aggies, though the Wolf Pack would again briefly take the lead.
Later in the half, Williams hit eight consecutive points to help Utah State to a 60-45 lead with 5:35 to play. The Aggies dropped in 11 free throws in the final two minutes to seal the win.
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