|
Aggies Lasso Mustangs With 97-57 Rout Saturday
Nov. 29, 2008
LOGAN, Utah - Three players in double-figures leading to a 64.9 percent field goal shooting effort plus and a 15-1 second-half run paced Utah State to a 97-57 rout of Cal Poly Saturday in men's basketball action at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. USU improved to 4-0 with the win while Cal Poly fell to 1-4. Utah State holds a 16-2 advantage over Cal Poly, including 9-0 at home. The Aggies have now won 56 consecutive regular season non-conference home games which is the second-longest in the country behind Duke's 59 straight. Senior forward Gary Wilkinson netted a game-high 21 points, the third time in four games that he's led the Aggies in scoring. Junior guard Stavon Williams was 5-of-6 from three-point range to finish with 15 points and sophomore forward Tai Wesley added 14. Wilkinson snared a game-high nine rebounds, leading USU to a dominating 37-20 rebounding advantage, while sophomore center Modou Niang and sophomore forward Matt Formisano pulled down six each. Chaz Thomas was the only Mustang player in double-figures with 18 points off the bench, while David Hanson had five rebounds. USU pulled away from an 18-18 tie with a 7-0 run, capped by a turnaround jumper from Formisano and Cal Poly never got closer than five points from there on out. The lead hit double-digits for the first time at 33-22 on a jumper from sophomore guard Tyler Newbold with 4:28 left in the half and the Aggies took a 46-30 lead into halftime. Back-to-back Wilkinson layups put USU ahead by 20 for the first time at 50-30 and the Aggies later led 67-42 before Williams put on his long-range clinic. Formisano hit a jumper before Williams hit from all over behind the arc, draining three treys in just under a four minute span. A jumper and a dunk from Niang capped the 15-1 run, putting the Aggies ahead, 82-43 with 7:23 remaining and USU cruised to the victory. Utah State shot a scorching season-best 64.9 percent (37-of-57) from the field, nearly matching it with 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from three-point range. The Aggies also were 82.4 percent (14-of-17) free throw shooting, USU's best outing at the free pitch line this season. Cal Poly was 24-of-57 (42.1 percent) overall, including a better percentage from three-point range at 53.8 percent (7-of-13). The Mustangs hit just 2-of-5 (40.0 percent) from the charity stripe. USU continues its three-game homestand by hosting UC Irvine on Tuesday, Dec. 7. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. Aggie basketball tickets are available online 24 hours a day at www.UtahStateAggies.com and clicking on "tickets" in left column, or by phone by calling 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305. Utah State basketball games are broadcast on KVNU (610 AM) and KLZX (95.9 FM) in Logan, Utah, KFAN (1320 AM) or ESPN Radio (1230 AM) in Salt Lake City and KLZX (105.3 FM) in Montpelier, Idaho, as well as on the internet at www.UtahStateAggies.com. Al Lewis serves as the play-by-play announcer while Rod Tueller serves as the analyst during home games.
|
