Utah State campus briefs

MEN'S BASKETBALL: Utah State's men's basketball team held its first official practice of the 2009-10 season Friday night as 15 players participated in the 2-hour and 30-minute workout in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan. Among the 15 players are nine who have at least one year of experience in the program and six who have at least two years.

One of those players with at least one year experience is senior guard Jared Quayle, who earned second-team all-WAC honors a year ago and was named to the league's all-newcomer team after averaging 13.1 points and 6.0 rebounds during his first season at USU.

"This is what we look forward to all summer," said Quayle in reference to the team's first practice of the season. "We competed well (tonight) and worked hard, we've just got to be better mentally. We've got a long ways to go."

Along with Quayle, Utah State returns three other starters from last year's team in junior forward Tai Wesley, and junior guards Tyler Newbold and Pooh Williams. Wesley averaged 12.0 points and 6.0 rebounds last year, while Newbold averaged 9.0 points and 4.2 rebounds, and Williams averaged 5.9 points and 1.9 rebounds.

During the 2008-09 season, Utah State set a school record for wins as it went 30-5 overall and claimed its second-straight Western Athletic Conference regular-season championship with a 14-2 league mark. USU also won its first-ever WAC Tournament Championship last year and advanced to its 18th NCAA Tournament all-time, including its sixth in the last 10 years under coach Stew Morrill.

"I can't believe how fast (the off-season) has gone and I can't believe we only have two weeks of practice until our first game," said Wesley. "I think overall (practice) went well for day one."

Utah State will continue with practice over the next 10 days leading up to its annual Blue-White Scrimmage on Wednesday, Oct. 28, at 7 p.m. Two days later, USU will play its first exhibition game of the season on Friday, Oct. 30, against Northwest Nazarene at 7 p.m. The Aggies will then play their final exhibition game on Friday, Nov. 7, against Trinity Western before beginning the regular season on Friday, Nov. 13, at Weber State at 7:30 p.m.

Season tickets are available through USU's website at www.UtahStateAggies.com or by by calling the ticket office toll free at 1-888-USTATE-1 or (435) 797-0305.

WOMEN'S SOCCER: Utah State won its third-straight Western Athletic Conference match with a 1-0 victory over Fresno State on Friday at Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field in Logan.