LOGAN, Utah – Utah State’s Steven Ashworth remains focused on the here and now as his team prepares for the 2023 Mountain West Championships in Las Vegas.

“Everybody is completely bought into whatever the coaches asked of us, whatever our teammates asked of us,” Ashworth told KSL Sports Hans & Scotty ahead of Utah State’s regular-season finale against Boise State.

“We know it’s going to be for the benefit of our goals of winning the Mountain West tournament and playing in the big dance. So for right now, I’m 100% focused on everything that I do throughout these next few days is geared towards those goals and focus.”

RELATED: Mountain West Regular Season Honors Announced, Steven Ashworth Named To First-Team

An injury to Rylan Jones opened the door for Ashworth and the junior point guard took full advantage. He led USU in scoring and assists this season, receiving first-team all-Mountain West recognition for his play.

With Jones unavailable for much of the season, Ashworth was able to fill the void.

“I’ve become very confident and know that if a shot needs to be hit, I have the confidence to take it and live with the results.”

SPLASHworth!

Congrats to @stevenAsh_15 on being named All-@MountainWest First Team!

➡️ https://t.co/OTbjucgfL8 pic.twitter.com/QtgwolIg7S

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 7, 2023

A dead-eye shooter, he led the Mountain West in free throw percentage (.889), three-point percentage (.450), and threes made per game (3.2). Ashworth finished the season as the Mountain West’s eighth-leading scorer (16.3 ppg) and fourth-leading creator, averaging 4.7 assists per game.

Ashworth earned MW Player of the Week honors after lifting USU to a pair of wins over UNLV and Boise State in the final week of the regular season. He averaged 23.0 points, 7.5 assists, 3.5 steals, and 3.0 rebounds per game, while shooting 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from the field, 50.0 percent (8-of-16) from deep and 85.7 percent (6-of-7) at the free throw line for the week.

“You’re gonna have to prove some people wrong and you can do it in a lot of different ways. When I’m out there on the court, I try to give it my all making sure that every single play, I’m giving it that maximum effort.”

Up Next

Utah State heads to Las Vegas, Nevada for the 2023 Mountain West Championships. The tournament will take place at the Thomas & Mack Center beginning Wednesday, March 8.

The Aggies will play the winner of sixth-seeded New Mexico and 11th-seeded Wyoming on Thursday, March 9, at 9:30 p.m. (MT).

The Mountain West title game is scheduled to tip off at 2 p.m. (MT) on Saturday, March 11.

Every Utah State basketball game can be heard on the KSL Sports Zone with Scott Garrard on the call.

Coverage of Utah State University Athletics from KSL Sports can be found here. 

Follow @bpreece24