Utah State basketball: Tai Wesley powers USU to victory

LOGAN — In conference play, it is often said by coaches and players that the intensity level goes up a notch.

That was certainly true in the Utah State Aggies' 74-66 win over the Hawaii Warriors to kick off Western Athletic Conference play Wednesday night.

It was a game the Aggies (12-2) could have lost had it not been for the effort of senior Tai Wesley.

"I was motivated by the start of the WAC season," Wesley said. "… We had a slower week of practice. We didn't have a lot of energy. We wanted to come out tonight and play with some energy. As a leader, I really wanted to do that."

Wesley brought the energy and then some. He finished with a career-high in minutes with 38. He also tied his career-high in points with 27, and added a game-high 13 rebounds.

"He didn't get in foul trouble and he was playing his tail off, so we kept him out there," head coach Stew Morrill said. "… He had to play spectacularly for us to win, and he did."

Hawaii coach Gib Arnold also came away impressed with the performance from Wesley.

"Tai Wesley was a monster tonight," Arnold said after the game. "He scored when his team needed him to, and he rebounded the ball extremely well. He had as many rebounds by himself as we did as a team."

Most important for Wesley was his free-throw shooting. He came in shooting just 67 percent from the stripe for the season, but went 11-for-11 on the night, which tied the school record. The Aggies as a team made 25 of their 30 free-throw attempts.

"That's one thing that won us the game was our free-throw shooting," Wesley said.

In a game that went down to the final few possessions, every one of those points proved vital.

Hawaii made the game close by shooting lights out from everywhere on the court. The Warrior's Zane Johnson scored 24 points, including 17 in the second half, to keep the Warriors close.

"I said to our guys afterwards, 'I don't remember the last time we had an opponent shoot 63 percent and 57 percent from 3 and won,'" Morrill said. "That's a credit to the other areas: rebounding, free throws, and making plays when we had to make plays."

It was the little things that did in the Warriors (9-4). The Aggies outrebounded Hawaii 32-13, and when they needed a play they got one.