Utah State Wins 71-57 Against Brigham Young

Nate Harris matched his career high with 26 points, while Spencer Nelson (14 points and 11 rebounds) and Jaycee Carroll (13 points and 11 rebounds) recorded double-doubles to lead Utah State to a convincing 71-57 victory against Brigham Young in men's basketball action here Wednesday, Dec. 1.

 

With the win Utah State improved to 4-1, while the Cougars fell to 1-4.

 

Utah State had four players score in double figures as point guard David Pak chipped in 10 points to join the previously mentioned players. Utah State's bench scored just four points as Cass Matheus and John Neil each had two points.

 

Brigham Young was led by Mike Hall, who scored 19 points, while Austin Ainge chipped in 15 points. That duo combined for six three-pointers as the Cougars made eight from behind the arc. BYU was six of nine from three-point range in the first half, but cooled off to two of 12 in the second half.

 

Utah State forced 15 BYU turnovers, while committing just nine. For the game the Aggies shot 46.3 percent, while BYU was at 41.5 percent. The deciding factor came at the free throw line as Utah State made 18 of 23, while BYU was just five of eight from the line.

 

The teams were tied at 36 at halftime and the game was within two points when Nelson made two free throws to give Utah State a 47-45 lead with 15:12 remaining. That started a 16-3 USU run which gave the Aggies a 61-48 lead with five minutes left in the game. BYU got no closer than 11 points (64-53) the rest of the way.

 

The 14-point victory margin marked just the second time in the last nine games in this series, that a game was decided by double-figures. Five of the last eight games had been decided by three points or less.

 

Carroll, a 6-2 freshman guard reached double-figure points for the third time in his five career games, while his 11 rebounds almost matched his four-game total of 14.

Nelson, a 6-8 senior recorded his second straight double-double as he had 18 points and 10 rebounds in Utah State's win against UC Davis last week.