Utah State basketball: Aggies obliterate Fresno State to clinch share of WAC title

LOGAN — When Fresno State's Mike Ladd grabbed an offensive rebound and put in a basket with 10:09 left in the first half, the Utah State student section rose to its feet and gave the Bulldog sophomore a standing ovation.

Why?

Those points were the first Fresno State points of the game — the Aggies had scored the other 22 points on the scoreboard — and the typically raucous USU students needed something, anything, to get excited about.

"It was a lot easier than I anticipated," Utah State coach Stew Morrill said after the Aggies absolutely crushed Fresno State 76-39 in a game that, if possible, was not as close as the final score indicated. "It was a tough night for them and a good night for us."

The action on the court might not have been very interesting in a lot of ways, but the game ended with a celebration nonetheless as Utah State wrapped up at least a share of a third consecutive Western Athletic Conference regular season title.

The real party, though, will have to wait.

"We haven't won anything yet," USU forward Tai Wesley said. "We didn't cut down the nets. … We want to get real greedy and do that Saturday night."

Saturday night the Aggies host New Mexico State — the WAC's second-place team — and hope to answer any remaining questions about who deserves the top seed in next week's WAC Tournament.

"We're not dwelling on (sharing the title)," Morrill said. "We want to win it outright."

The way Utah State is playing defense, that outright championship might not be too difficult.

The Aggies limited Fresno State only 22.2 percent shooting. The Bulldogs, occasionally one of the WAC's most explosive offensive teams, missed 42 of 54 shots and Utah State forced 16 turnovers.

The FSU trio of potential NBA draft picks — four or five NBA scouts were at the Spectrum to watch them, but left long before the game was over — combined to make just 6 of 30 shots and scored a whopping 20 points.

Wesley, on the other hand, dominated the Fresno State post players, making 10 of 13 shots, scoring a game-high 21 points and grabbing seven rebounds while dishing out five assists — all in only 27 minutes.

"He's a basketball player," Morrill said. "You can't ever underestimate that. … He's one of the smartest players I've ever had."