by: Wade Denniston, USU Athletic Media Relations
CONWAY, S.C. – The first-ever matchup between the men's basketball teams of Utah State and Penn did not disappoint.
Utah State senior forward
Justin Bean and Penn sophomore guard Jordan Dingle made sure of that.
Bean poured in a career-high 33 points and grabbed a game-best 16 rebounds – nine more than Penn's top rebounder – as the Aggies outlasted the Quakers 87-79 in double overtime in the quarterfinals of the Myrtle Beach Invitational on Thursday afternoon at the HTC Center.
Bean, who notched his third double-double of the season and 29th of his career, tied Jimmy Moore (1973-75) for seventh all-time in USU history in career double-doubles. He also became the first Aggie to score 30 points and grab 15 rebounds in the same game since Brian Jackson did it against Cal State Fullerton during the 1980-81 season. Jackson also had a 36 and 15 game that same year.
Furthermore, Bean is the first Aggie to score 30-plus points in back-to-back games since
Neemias Queta had 32 and 30, both at Boise State, on Feb. 17 and Feb. 19, 2021.
Junior guard
Rylan Jones scored a season-high 21 points, including knocking down all 10 of his free throw attempts, as Utah State (2-1) advanced to Friday's semifinals against New Mexico State (3-0), which advanced with a 75-64 victory over Davidson. The showdown between former conference rivals, which will be televised live on ESPN2, is slated to begin at 10 a.m. (MT).
Dingle, Penn's leading scorer at 19.0 ppg coming into Thursday's tilt against Utah State, finished with 31 points, while Max Martz chipped in 12 off the bench. They were the lone Quakers to score in double figures.
As a team, Utah State shot 46.3 percent from the field. The Aggies were 31-of-67 and made eight 3-pointers. They also shot 89.5 percent from the free throw line, hitting on 17 of their 19 attempts.
Grad senior forward
Brandon Horvath chipped in 14 points, eight rebounds and three assists for Utah State, which led 50-38 with 11:56 to go in the second half.
Penn didn't go away, though. The Quakers used an 18-5 run, capped by a four-point play from Dingle, to take a 56-55 lead with 4:55 remaining in regulation. Martz gave the designated visitors a 64-62 lead with 1:02 to go when he knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing.
Fifteen seconds later, Horvath answered for the Aggies when he made a layup to knot the game at 64-apiece. Both teams had chances to win it in regulation, but Dingle missed a 3-pointer with 21 seconds left and another as the horn sounded. USU senior guard
RJ Eytle-Rock had his shot blocked by Penn's Lucas Monroe with five seconds to go.
Utah State led by as many as three in the first overtime and was up 73-71 with 1:02 following a Horvath layup, but Martz tied it at 73-apiece with 27 seconds to go on a long jumper that was initially ruled a 3-pointer. However, replays showed his right foot was just on the line and the basked was ruled a two-pointer.
Again, the Aggies had a chance to win it at the end, but sophomore guard
Steven Ashworth couldn't connect on his shot attempt with seven seconds left. Monroe grabbed the rebound for the Quakers and headed the other way, but he also missed his potential game-winner.
Utah State never trailed in the second overtime as Jones put the Aggies ahead for good on a layup with 4:27 to go.
Penn shot 40.0 percent from the field (28-of-70), including 27.3 percent from 3-point range (9-of-33), and 87.5 percent from the charity stripe (14-of-16).
For more information on Utah State's men's basketball program, follow the Aggies on Facebook at usumensbasketball, on Twitter at @usubasketball and on Instagram at @usubasketball. Fans can also watch USU men's basketball highlights by visiting youtube.com/utahstateathletics.
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