Utah State basketball: Aggies roll to road win over Bulldogs

FRESNO, Calif. — The last time Utah State visited the Save Mart Center, the Aggies got one of their biggest scares of the season when Fresno State's Sylvester Seay nailed a 60-foot buzzer-beater to force overtime against a ranked USU team.

On Thursday night, the Aggies had to endure no such drama as Seay couldn't hit a layup, let alone a three-quarter-court prayer.

Utah State (14-6 overall, 4-2 WAC) blew past the Bulldogs with a dominating second-half rally to win their fourth straight game, 69-43, and give coach Stew Morrill his 499th career coaching victory.

"A great win by our kids. They executed the gameplan really well and played really hard," Morrill said in a post-game radio interview. "I was pleased with our intensity and execution of the game plan."

While Fresno State was playing without much contribution from its best players, Utah State got a career high from its own bulldog player.

Brian Green hit five 3-pointers and fueled USU's decisive offensive explosion.

Seay, on the other hand, made only 1-of-12 shots and finished with just six points.

"Right now, we're playing really good ball on the road," Aggie point guard Jared Quayle said. "We have a lot of energy on the defensive end and we're getting turnovers and making them take tough shots."

In the first half, the Aggies played some stiff defense while Fresno State couldn't buy a basket. With the Bulldogs making only 6-of-25 shots in the first 20 minutes, the Aggies built a 32-18 lead at the break.

FSU finished the game shooting just 29 percent.

Quayle, the reigning WAC player of the week, knocked down a trio of first-half 3-pointers and had nine points to lead all scorers at the half.

Fresno State's top player, sophomore shooting guard Paul George, left the game early in the opening half after getting tangled up with USU's Tai Wesley while diving for a loose ball on the floor. With George in the locker room, the Bulldogs struggled to get their offense rolling.

"It's one of those nights where things went our way," Morrill said. "They lost a little umph there and they just struggled from there on."

Seay, who tormented the Aggies in two games last year, had a miserable half. The 6-foot-10 forward made only 1-of-7 shots.

The Bulldogs, however, weren't quite done and showed some life in the first few minutes of the second half.