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LOGAN, Utah - Utah State opens the Myrtle Beach Invitational on Thursday, Nov. 18, facing Penn (2-2) at Noon (MT). The game marks the first meeting between the two schools in USU history.

Opening Tips
• Over the last three years, Utah State is 18-7 in tournament play, including appearances in the NCAA Tournament, Mountain West Tournament and three MTEs. The Aggies captured the championship of the 2019 Jersey Mike's Jamaica Classic.

• Senior forward Justin Bean was named the Mountain West Player of the Week after averaging a double-double in the Aggies' opening contests last week. Bean scored 16 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in the season opener against UC Davis before scoring a career-high 30 points and logging 13 rebounds against Richmond.

• Bean recorded his 28th-career double-double against Richmond and now ranks eighth in school history in career double-doubles.  Bean needs one more double-double to move into a tie for seventh with Jimmy Moore (1973-75).

• Bean is on pace to become just the third Aggie in school history to finish his career with more than 1,000 career points and 1,000 career rebounds. Currently, Bean has totaled 899 points and 715 career rebounds. (Bean recorded 356 rebounds as a sophomore in 2019-20)

• Coming into the Myrtle Beach Invitational, Bean is the top individual scorer (23.0 ppg) and rebounder (13.0 rpg) in the entire tournament field.

• Utah State's starting frontcourt of Bean and Horvath have scored in double figures in each of the Aggies' two games this season. USU's starting frontcourt has outscored its counterparts in each contest this season.

• Utah State finished last season 20-9, marking the third-straight year with 20 or more wins and the first time the Aggies have won 20 games or more in three-consecutive seasons since 2010-13.

• Since the year 2000, only 17 teams have recorded 16 seasons with 20 or more wins and 11 NCAA Tournament bids (Utah State, Kentucky, Florida, North Carolina, Duke, Syracuse, Kansas, Texas, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Arizona, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, BYU and Gonzaga).

Scouting Penn
Penn will play Utah State as its fifth game in eight days, opening the year 2-2 with losses on Nov. 10 and Nov. 12, and wins on Nov. 14 and Nov. 16. The action was the Quakers' first since the 2019-20 season as the Ivy League canceled competition during the 2020-21 season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Penn is averaging 73.5 points per game this season and shooting 43.8 percent (106-of-242) from the floor, 41.4 percent (41-of-99) from behind the 3-point line and 82.0 percent (41-of-50) at the free throw line. Individually, sophomore guard Jordan Dingle is one of three Quakers averaging double figures and scoring 19.0 points per game, followed by junior guard Jonah Charles with 12.8 points per game and sophomore guard Clark Slajchert with 10.0 points per game. Dingle also paces the team with 3.3 assists per game, while senior guard Jelani Williams leads the Quakers on the glass with 5.0 boards per contest. Overall, Penn has pulled down 34.5 rebounds per game.

Defensively, Penn's opponents have averaged 79.3 points per game and shot 44.2 percent (114-of-258) from the floor, 35.1 percent (39-of-111) from behind the 3-point line and 72.5 percent (50-of-69) at the free throw line. Dingle leads the team with 1.3 steals per game and sophomore wing Max Martz is tops with 2.0 blocks per game. Opponents have won the battle of the boards, pulling down 38.5 rebounds per game.