Dec. 20, 2000

Box Score

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Behind a solid offensive effort in which Utah State shot 55.8 percent from the floor and had four players score in double figures, USU's basketball team defeated UC Riverside here tonight 76-62 to improve to 7-2 on the season and 2-1 on the road. With the loss, the Highlanders fell to 3-6 on the year.

"We kept our composure down the stretch and made some plays and made some free throws and did what we needed to do and that was encouraging," commented Utah State head coach Stew Morrill. "We defended in the second half and that gave us an opportunity to win the game."

Utah State took a 36-33 advantage into the locker room at half-time behind 11 points from senior forward Shawn Daniels (Bakersfield, Calif.) as the Aggies shot 57.7 percent from the floor in the opening stanza.

The Aggies quickly extended that three-point advantage into an 11-point lead with over 12 minutes remaining in the game and didn't let UC Riverside get any closer than within six points for the remainder of the contest.

Junior guard Tony Brown (Hyrum, Utah) led Utah State with 14 points, while fellow senior Curtis Bobb added 13 points and seven rebounds. Bobb scored 11 of those points in the second half. Senior center Dimitri Jorssen (Theux, Belguim) had 12 points and five rebounds, while Daniels also had 12 points.

Utah State will return to action on Saturday, Dec. 23, at 7:05 p.m. against Weber State University in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

-USU-