by: Wade Denniston, USU Athletic Media Relations
LOGAN, Utah – Utah State's men's basketball team earned its first home victory of the season with an 80-61 victory over UT Arlington on Saturday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
The Aggies (5-1) were led by senior forward Justin Bean, who notched his fifth double-double of the season with 24 points and 10 rebounds, both of which were game highs. Senior guard Brock Miller chipped in 16 points and sophomore guard Steven Ashworth filled the stat sheet off the bench with 15 points, six assists, five rebounds and one steal.
David Azore led the Mavericks (1-5) with 17 points, while Javon Levi added 14. Former Aggie Carson Bischoff scored nine points off the bench for UTA in his 2021-22 season debut.
Utah State never trailed on the night as it scored the first six points of the game. The Aggies opened their largest lead of the first half at 22-9 following a 3-pointer by Ashworth less than eight minutes in.
Bischoff, who redshirted at Utah State during the 2019-20 campaign, knocked down a 3-pointer with 5:49 left until the break to pull UT Arlington to within 31-25. Bischoff added two rebounds and two steals in 17 minutes of action.
The Aggies led 40-32 at the break.
After Utah State senior guard RJ Eytle-Rock drilled a 3-pointer to open the second-half, UT Arlington got to within seven on two occasions before the Aggies finally put the Mavericks away.
A 3-pointer by Ashworth ignited a 14-0 run for the Aggies, who shot 51.7 percent from the field (30-of-58), including 41.4 percent from 3-point range (12-of-29), and 80.0 percent from the free throw line (8-of-10).
During that key stretch that lasted nearly five minutes, UT Arlington, which shot 39.3 percent from the field (22-of-56), including 27.8 percent from 3-point range (5-of-18), and 92.3 percent from the free throw line (12-of-13), missed eight shots and committed two turnovers.
Junior guard Rylan Jones had seven assists for the Aggies, who recorded 26 helpers on 30 made field goals. Utah State scored 32 points in the paint and turned 15 UT Arlington turnovers into 20 points.
The Aggies improved to 2-3 all-time against the Mavericks, including 2-1 at home. This was the first meeting between the former Western Athletic Conference rivals since the 2012-13 season – USU's last in the WAC.
Utah State is back at home on Monday, Nov. 29, when the Aggies welcome Carroll College to the Spectrum at 7 p.m.
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.