Utah State basketball: Medlin, Reed spark Aggies' victory

LOGAN — The Utah State men's basketball team emerged victorious in its first game of the Athletes in Action Classic, beating the University of Texas Arlington 73-69 on Tuesday night.

Sophomore guard Preston Medlin scored a career-high 27 points for the Aggies, and his 3-point barrage was too much for the visiting Mavericks to overcome.

"Preston had a huge night," head coach Stew Morrill said. "Look at his stat line, he was doing a lot out there. Passing, shooting, rebounding, and he's a good defender. That was a good guard performance tonight."

It was a sloppy first two minutes for the Aggies, as they missed their first three shots from the field and committed several turnovers. The game quickly turned into the Medlin show, however, as the fourth-best 3-point shooter in the Western Athletic Conference hit five 3-pointers on the night.

Trailing 4-0, Medlin caught fire from beyond the arc and turned the deficit into a 20-8 lead for Utah State. Medlin hit four 3s in the span of five minutes, and chants of "Preston's winning!" filled the Spectrum as he single-handedly outscored the Mavericks 12-8.

Fellow sophomore guard Danny Berger Berger had two 3-pointers during the run and finished the night with 12 points, all on 3s.

Utah State finished the first half 7-of-17 from 3-point range, and its first nine field goal attempts on the night came from beyond the arc.

UT-Arlington didn't quit despite the early deficit, and senior forward Bo Ingram closed the deficit to two points after hitting back-to-back 3-pointers and then two free throws. The Aggies responded and, despite two straight offensive fouls, stretched the lead to eight points as junior guard EJ Farris hit a layup at the buzzer for a 34-26 USU advantage going into the break.

Medlin said the team was playing together.

"We kept kicking it out," he said. "(UT-Arlington) was playing zone, and we got in tight and kicked it out for 3s."

Junior forward Kyisean Reed, who had a quiet first half with only one rebound, came out of the gates strong for the Aggies to start the second half. Reed, a junior college transfer, scored Utah State's first five points of the second half on a layup and an old-fashioned three-point play.

It was Reed's two highlight plays that really lifted the Aggies.