Utah State Aggies gamers rejoice after defeating Boise State within the semifinals of the Mountain West Convention Basketball Event at UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Heart in Las Vegas on Saturday, March 11, 2023. Utah Sate gained 72-62, Scott G Winterton, Deseret Information
LAS VEGAS — A bunch of impersonators wearing black basketball jerseys took over the basketball court docket on the Thomas & Mack Heart late Friday night time within the first half of the Mountain West Convention semifinal between heated rivals Utah State and Boise State.
They weren’t dressed like Elvis, Spiderman or the Statue of Liberty, however they form of performed like these characters usually discovered fortunately posing for pictures on the close by Las Vegas Strip — for a small donation, in fact.
“Champions at all times reply. That’s Aggie basketball.” — Utah State guard Steven Ashworth.
Some how, a way, the Aggies returned to their actual selves within the second half — after listening to coach Ryan Odom’s passionate halftime locker room plea to “Be Us” — and finally rolled previous the Broncos 72-62 to advance to Saturday’s championship recreation.
Third-seeded Utah State (26-7) will face top-seeded San Diego State (26-6) at 4 p.m. MST for the crown and the league’s computerized berth into the NCAA Event, though each squad are seemingly assured a spot within the Huge Dance if the most recent bracketology projections are correct.
The Aggies actually handed the attention take a look at Friday — at the least within the second half.
“We have been very lucky to be the place we have been at at halftime.” Odom mentioned.
Certainly, the Aggies seemed nothing just like the staff that was probably the greatest 3-point capturing golf equipment within the nation this season within the first 20 minutes, frequently dashing lengthy photographs and misfiring on practically all of them. Utah State missed its first six 3-pointers and was 1 of 12 from past the arc earlier than Steven Ashworth hit a pair back-to-back to revive order.
Boise State led 36-28 at halftime, having turned 10 USU turnovers into 13 factors. In contrast to loads of characters and institutions in Sin Metropolis, Utah State was being beneficiant to a fault.
Then the Aggies turned the tables within the second half, whereas nonetheless within the black jerseys that Aggie followers have come to consider are cursed. These followers most likely have differing opinions on the outfits now, after USU outscored BSU 44-26 within the second half.
“Champions at all times reply,” mentioned Ashworth, who completed with 14 factors on 4 of 13 capturing. “That’s Aggie basketball.”
This time, the catalyst for the comeback was not the regular Ashworth, however fellow guards Max Shulga and RJ Eytle-Rock.
Shulga’s 3-point play with just below 16 minutes remaining pulled the Aggies to inside three, 40-37. Sean Bairstow’s triple a minute later bought the Aggies inside one, and some moments later USU took its first lead of the sport when the bullish Eytle-Rock sank a pair of free throws after a controversial block-charge name went the Aggies’ means.
Odom mentioned it was “fairly a recreation” for one which featured only one lead change. As soon as USU bought the benefit, the air went out of the Broncos.
Shulga would go on to hit back-to-back 3-pointers between the 4:25 mark and the three:35 mark to seal the deal.
In the meantime, the Aggies stopped their generosity within the last 20 minutes, and surrendered zero factors off 5 second-half turnovers.
“The open man is the go-to man on our staff,” mentioned Shulga, who completed with a game-high 19 factors.
Boise State cooled off significantly within the second half, which coach Leon Rice attributed, partly, to fatigue. The Broncos have been taken to time beyond regulation Thursday by UNLV when USU was coasting previous New Mexico.
“It's a recreation of constructing some photographs, they usually have been in a position to do this,” Rice mentioned. “… Possibly one of many weaknesses of this staff is the quantity of men I performed. That most likely confirmed up in our capturing.”
The Broncos shot 54% within the first half and 27% within the second half.
“As soon as we started to settle in within the second half and closed the hole just a little bit, our guys started to really feel some juice there and also you kinda noticed how the ending went,” Odom mentioned. “It was a optimistic ending for us.”
It was nothing of the type for Boise State, as Rice was assessed a technical foul with 3:19 remaining.
In a bodily, heated recreation that featured 42 fouls — 20 on USU, 22 on BSU — and plenty of stoppages in play, it was a kind of at all times tough block-charge calls that Boise State insisted swung the momentum to USU’s favor for good.
Broncos star Tyson Degenhart was whistled for the block, choosing up his fourth foul, on the drive by Eytle-Rock that ended with the lead-changing free throws.
Degenhart mentioned postgame it was a kind of bang-bang performs that simply didn’t go Boise State’s means. Requested for his opinion on the matter moments later, Rice mentioned he thought Degenhart answered the query properly and left it at that.
Ashworth, who uncharacteristically missed two free throws after the technical foul was known as, mentioned the Aggies’ means to maintain their composure was a key component of the ultimate 5-10 minutes.
“We discuss ensuring you allow the jersey in a greater place whenever you play for Utah State,” he mentioned.
Concerning the large turnaround within the second half, Odom mentioned it started on the journey to the locker room at intermission.
“As we seemed on the scoreboard and walked in at halftime we simply talked about all of the issues that we’ve talked about all season — the self-discipline, the execution, dealing with physicality, the composure that it's a must to should be a terrific staff, a successful staff, and the way linked now we have to be,” Odom mentioned. “We weren’t as linked as we would have liked to be in that first half, and Boise State had lots to do with that.”
Then the actual Aggies confirmed up within the second half — and never some impostors from the insanity just a few blocks away.