Aggies strong in home opener

Utah State dominated Idaho State University in the Aggies’ regular season home-opener in the Spectrum Tuesday night, winning by a score of 77-44. The win gave USU a total of 35 straight home wins, which is the second longest active streak in the nation. After starting the season with two tough losses on the road at Utah and Northeastern, the Aggies were able to make corrections against the Bengals. “I was pleased with our intensity,” head coach Stew Morrill said. “Coming off a couple of heartbraking road losses, it could have been a situation where you are a little bit down in the dumps… We needed to show some character and come out and play, and for the most part, we did.” Utah State was led by Tai Wesley. The big man had a team high 19 points, including two emphatic slam dunks to bring the Spectrum crowd to their feet. Wesley also recorded five rebounds and four assists. “It was open, and the legs felt good, so I went up and put it down,” Wesley said when asked about the slams. Coach Morrill was able to spread playing time around, and the Aggies were able to recieve solid performances from key bench players. Brian Green had 12 points, all off of three point shots. Brady Jardine also had a productive night, grabbing a game high eight rebounds to go along with three points. “A lot of different guys did good things,” Morrill said. “It was nice to get a chance to get everybody some time. “Brian Green seemed real comfortable coming off of the bench, so that was very positive. I thought Brady played within himself a lot more. He’s had trouble turning the ball over, and tonight he was just throwing it back out…That was very positive.” Utah State was also grateful to have Pooh Williams return to the starting lineup after seeing limited minutes against Northeastern. Williams is recovering from an injured foot, and made his first start of the season. He had eight points and two rebounds in 20 minutes of playing time. “It was good to be back playing at home, that helped out a lot,” Williams said. “It’s more comfortable out there having the fans behind your back. “Right now, I’m really out of shape. I got very winded… Once I get back in shape, I’ll probably be back playing (more).” Utah State will look to continue their winning ways at home, as they have a tough homestand with Southern Utah, BYU, and St. Mary’s all making trips to the Spectrum. USU matches up with SUU Saturday night, and BYU and St. Mary’s visit next week.

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