Aggies Start Slow, Finish Strong In Win Over San Jose State
Jan 16, 2019, 9:57 PM
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Utah State Aggies struggled early, but turned it up a notch at the end of the first half to beat San Jose State 81-63.
The Aggies sputtered in the beginning of the contest, allowing San Jose State to take a quick 9-3 lead. The Spartans continued to pile it on early, building a 21-7 lead at the 12 and a half minute mark.
WIN #13 ✅#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/Dm1egAwHzk
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 17, 2019
Utah State however, fought back and took the lead at 31-29 with 4:14 remaining in the first half on a made triple by Diogo Brito. From there, they would not look back on their way to the victory.
The Aggies expanded on their lead and took a 41-35 advantage into the halftime break on 10 first-half points by Brito.
Having trailed by 15 at one point in the first half, the Aggies were a completely different team in the final two-thirds of the game, and built that was ultimately an 18-point lead to end the game.
By The Numbers
Utah State’s Sam Merrill turned his ankle midway through the first half but returned and had a gutsy performance, finishing with 12 points.
Neemias Queta contributed with 14 points while hauling down nine rebounds.
Brito turned in a career-high 23 points in the win.
Media TO. Aggies lead 81-63 with 29.9 seconds to play. @DiogoBrito24 with a career-high 23 points, becoming the sixth Aggie this season to score 20 or more points in a game this season. #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/DGXMXo8vsu
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 17, 2019
The Aggies overcame 12 made 3-pointers by the Spartans by forcing 22 turnovers in the game.
Utah State also had 40 bench points compared to just 18 by San Jose State.
Next Up
The Aggies will return home to host Colorado State Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Mountain West Conference Digital Network.
