Lucky 13: Aggies extend win streak against Hawaii

HONOLULU – Senior guard Jared Quayle scored 13 points and junior guard Pooh Williams had 12 to lead Utah State to a 61-50 road win against Hawai’i here inside the Stan Sheriff Center late Thursday night.Utah State, who has now won 13 straight games including 12 straight in the Western Athletic Conference, improves to 23-6 on the season and 12-2 in league play with the win. Hawai’i, who lost its ninth straight game, falls to 9-18 overall and 2-11 in league play with the loss.For Utah State, it is the 11th straight year that it has won at least 23 games joining Kansas and Gonzaga as the only teams in the nation to accomplish that feat.Hiram Thompson led Hawai’i with 13 points, while Brandon Adams and Adhar Mayen each had 12 points.Hawai’i made four of its first five shots of the second-half to get within 27-21, but USU answered with a 7-1 run to increase its lead to 12 at 39-27 with 13:16 to play following a three-pointer from Williams. The Warriors cut the lead to seven at 39-32 with 11:42 to play but a Quayle three-pointer gave the visitors a double-digit lead at 44-32. USU later led 51-38 following a Brady Jardine jumper and neither team scored for the next 2:59 before Flemings scored on a dunk to break the drought. On the next possession, USU took its largest lead of the game on a three-pointer from junior guard Brian Green to make the score 54-40 with 3:42 to play and USU held on from there for the win.Utah State finished the game by shooting 43.8 percent from the field (21-48), 33.3 percent from three-point range (6-18) and 68.8 percent at the free throw line (11-16). Hawai’i shot 40.9 percent overall (18-44), including 50.0 percent from behind the arc (6-12) and 50.0 percent at the charity stripe (8-16). UH also out-rebounded USU, 30-28.Utah State scored the first three points of the game on a trey from junior guard Tyler Newbold and led 5-3 following a put-back dunk from junior forward Tai Wesley before Hawai’i went on a 10-4 run over the next 4:04 to take its largest lead of the game at 13-9. Hawai’i later led 17-15 following a free throw from Roderick Flemings at the 6:40 mark, but Utah State held the Rainbow Warriors scoreless from that point on as the Aggies closed the half on a 10-0 run to take a 25-17 lead into the locker roomQuayle had seven first-half points to go along with five rebounds to lead Utah State, while Wesley had five points and three assists. USU shot 40.0 percent (8-20) in the first half, including 77.8 percent at the free throw line (7-9), but was just 2-of-7 (.286) from three-point range. Hawai’i shot just 28.0 percent (7-25) during the first 20 minutes, including 33.3 percent from three (2-6) and 20.0 percent at the free throw line (1-5).Utah State will return home and host Fresno State on Monday, Mar. 1 at 7 p.m. in its first of two home games to conclude regular season play.

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