If Utah State’s first two games of the season are any indication of what to expect, any given player can be the Aggies' top scorer on any given night.
In USU’s 84-62 win over Bradley in a non-conference men's basketball game, the squad was led in large part by a number of players that many Aggie fans view as role players.
Utah State backup point guard Steven Ashworth came off the bench for a big game with a game-high 28 points on 6 of 11 shooting and six assists, in what might have been his top performance in an Aggie uniform.
“Sometimes it just feels like you’re throwing rocks in the ocean and tonight was just one of those nights,” Ashworth said after the game.
Ashworth’s performance set a new career high in points as an Aggie for the junior guard.
Sophomore guard Zee Hamoda and graduate transfer forward Dan Akin also came off the bench for big games for the Aggies. Hamoda scored 15 points on 4 of 7 shooting, and Akin put up a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
The duo of Sean Bairstow and Taylor Funk led the Aggies in scoring in the season-opening win on Monday against UVU and many expect the pair to be USU’s top offensive contributors. However on Friday, they combined for just 20 points on 5 of 16 shooting in the Aggie victory.
In addition to the bench production, Aggie starters Trevin Dorius and Max Shulga combined for 13 points and 12 rebounds on 6 of 12 shooting.
USU head coach Ryan Odom spoke highly of the team’s overall production.
“They’re going to understand each other even more as the season progresses,” Odom said. “They’re determined to be a good team and they’re determined individually to be good players. There’s a good vibe in that locker room right now.”
Early on both teams struggled to find their offense, as they combined for 0 for 9 from the field to start the game, before Bradley point guard Duke Dean sunk a pull up jumper about three minutes into the contest.
The slow start included Bairstow and Funk, who went a combined 0 for 7 from the field to start the game. The cold spell between the two extended until Bairstow hit a jumper from the elbow with 6:29 remaining in the first half. Funk connected on his first field goal on a 3-pointer from the elbow at the 3:01 mark.
Despite the slow start for the duo, the Aggies received strong contributions from the rest of the squad and jumped out to a 27-9 lead at the 7:49 mark. Bradley cut into the lead, but Utah State took a 45-32 advantage into halftime.
Ashworth had the hot hand from the start as he led all scorers in the first half with 12 points on 3 of 6 shooting, including 3 of 5 from beyond the arc. He also dished out five assists to just two turnovers in that half.
Hamoda came out aggressive with seven points, while being a perfect 2 for 2 from the field and 1 for from the charity stripe. Akin, who had a rough night in his Aggie debut on Monday, came out strong on Friday and connected his first two field goal attempts on his way to scoring six points in the first half.
As a whole, the Aggies shot 44.6 percent from the field, including 45.8 percent from beyond the arc. The second time in as many games that Utah State shot better than 40 percent on 3-point shots.
Defensively, Utah State held Bradley to 34.5 percent shooting from the field, plus the Aggies outrebounded the Braves by a convincing 46-24 margin.
Utah State moved to 2-0 on the season and will next be in action on Monday at home against West Coast Conference program Santa Clara at 7 p.m.
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