LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Utah State's Tai Wesley is affectionately known as 'The Rock' for his physical play, but after his performance in the Aggies' 85-65 victory over San Jose State Thursday, he may take on another moniker: The Tai Swatter.

Wesley finished a rebound shy of a double-double with 15 points and nine boards, and he also had a career-high six blocks.

"I'm not a big shot-blocker. It just kind of came along that I could get up and block some shots," he said. "I'm not really known for that because I don't do it very much. I got pretty lucky."

Utah State coach Stew Morrill wants to make sure Wesley remembers that.

"He's really good at taking charges and we don't want him to start trying to block everything," Morrill said. "And he knows that."

Wesley, a freshman, added three blocks in the first half and three more in the second, giving him 31 blocks for the season, which is the high on the team.

APOLOGY GIVEN: Following Utah State's 19-point victory over Boise State last week, Boise's Matt Nelson had words with Utah State's Gary Wilkinson during the post-game handshake.

He soon saw the error of his ways and rectified the situation.

"The finish at Utah State, I just feel like an idiot and embarrassed about that, to be honest," Nelson told the Idaho Statesman. "When I came to my senses, I was like, 'What am I doing?' "

He issued an apology to Morrill as well as Wilkinson.

PASSING AINGE: With his 24 points, Jaycee Carroll is now 20 points ahead of BYU's Danny Ainge and is 55 points shy of tying Utah's Keith Van Horn for the most points scored all-time in the state of Utah.

HONORING L.P.: In honor of senior athletic director Lisa Parker, who is suffering through cancer, the Broncos wore a patch on their jerseys with the initials "L.P."

MORE ON CARROLL: With 750 points this season, Carroll now stands in second behind Wayne Estes for the most points scored in a season in Utah State history. Estes scored 821 in the 1963-64 season.

HOT SHOTS: The Aggies have shot over 50 percent from the field in 17 of their last 23 games, while shooting 50 percent or better from the field in 11 of their last 12 halves. Utah State shot 55.9 percent from the field against San Jose State.

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E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com