LOGAN, Utah – A whistle sounded on a loose-ball scrum with 0.9 seconds to play and Saint Mary's hit both free throws on a one-and-one opportunity, providing an anti-climactic finish to what was a hard-fought college basketball game inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Thursday night.
The Aggies (6-2) had one more opportunity on the other end of the court, but the ball went out of bounds with time on the clock. The referees met at the table and made the decision that time should have passed and that the game was over, giving the Gaels (8-1) the 60-58 victory.
Senior forward Justin Bean led the Aggies with 19 points and 10 rebounds, marking his nationally-leading seventh double-double of the season. Sophomore guard Steven Ashworth also logged double figures with 12 points as Utah State finished the game shooting 37.7 percent (20-of-53) from the floor, 20.0 percent (3-of-15) from behind the 3-point line and 83.3 percent (15-of-18) at the free throw line.
Utah State led at the break for the fourth consecutive game, taking a 20-16 lead into the half. The Aggies held the Gaels without a three over the opening 20 minutes as both teams struggled to find an offensive groove. USU shot 37.5 percent from the floor and held Saint Mary's to just 25.9 percent (7-of-27), including an 0-for-12 clip from behind the arc.
The second half proved to be a different story as the Gaels shot 65.4 percent (17-of-26) from the floor and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from long range. Although the Aggies shot 37.9 percent (11-of-29) and 22.2 percent (2-of-9) from three over the final 20 minutes, the game was still tight with the game knotted at 56-56 with 2:41 to play.
"All week, we were all preparing for the last minutes of the game," sophomore guard Steven Ashworth said following the game. "We knew that this game was going to be a stop-and-score type of game."
The Spectrum atmosphere was in full effect as an announced 8,888 fans filled the venue with deafening noise down the stretch.
"It was a great, great atmosphere. I can't say enough great things about the fans, they really came through tonight," Bean said. "The biggest thing is you want to win for them. You want to win those close games, those hard-fought games with those kinds of atmospheres because they deserve it and that's probably the most heartbreaking thing about this loss for me, just not being able to deliver for them."
Saint Mary's took a 58-56 lead with just under two minutes to play before senior forward Brandon Horvath knocked down a pair of free throws with just under a minute to play to tie the game at 58-58. Senior guard RJ Eytle-Rock then stole the ball on the Gaels' next possession, marking the final of a season-high 12 thefts for the Aggies during the contest. Utah State then missed on back-to-back chances before the whistle with 0.9 seconds to play.
The Aggies return to the court on Wednesday, Dec. 8, traveling to Provo to face Brigham Young University inside the Marriott Center at 7 p.m. Fans can watch the game live on BYUtv.
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.