by: Wade Denniston, USU Athletic Media Relations

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State was not about to let this one go down to the wire.

Having lost their last two home games in the final seconds, the Aggies turned a one-point halftime lead into a blowout, beating San Diego State 75-57 in a Mountain West men's basketball game Wednesday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

Junior guard Steven Ashworth had 17 points, five assists and two steals as Utah State (11-9, 2-5 MW) snapped a four-game losing streak. The Aggies' average margin of defeat during that stretch was a meager 4.3 points, including a two-point loss and three-point loss at home to Wyoming and Boise State, respectively.

Senior forward Justin Bean, playing under the weather with a non-COVID-related issue, added 13 points and 13 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the season and 39th of his career. He also had five assists and two steals.

The Aggies' 18-point win against the Aztecs is their second-largest in series history, trailing only the 44-point win (101-57) during the 1962-63 season, which was the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Utah State set season highs for a San Diego State opponent in points scored (75), field goal percentage (49.1 on 27-of-55 shooting) and assists (19). The Aggies' nine steals on the night tied a season high for an SDSU foe.

Prior to Wednesday, the Aztecs had held seven-consecutive opponents to less than 40 percent shooting from the field.

San Diego State (11-5, 3-2), losers of two of its last three games, was led in scoring by Matt Bradley, who had 19 points, to go along with six rebounds, five assists, two steals and one block. Chad Baker-Mazara added 15 points off the bench.

Graduate forward Brandon Horvath added 12 points and five rebounds for Utah State, which has won four of the last five and six of the last nine games played against the Aztecs. Junior guard Sean Bairstow chipped in 10 for the shorthanded Aggies, who were without the services of senior guard Brock Miller and junior guard Rylan Jones, both starters.

Utah State, which led for nearly 39 minutes of the game, scored the first five points of the contest on a jumper by Horvath and 3-pointer by Ashworth. SDSU didn't take its first lead of the night until Keshad Johnson scored on a layup at the 10:51 mark of the first half, making it 20-19.

A dunk by junior center Trevin Dorius gave the Aggies the lead back at 21-20, but Bradley answered at the other end to propel the Aztecs back on top, 22-21, with 8:59 left in the first half.

That was the last time San Diego State, which did not have an offensive rebound, led on the night.

Max Shulga put Utah State in front to stay when he drilled a 3-pointer with 8:41 to go in the half, making it 24-21. The sophomore guard finished with an efficient eight points on 3-for-3 shooting, three assists and two rebounds off the bench.

The Aggies led 32-31 at the break, but opened the second half on a 13-2 run to effectively seize control of the game. Senior guard RJ Eytle-Rock scored all seven of his points during that spurt.

San Diego State never got closer than seven the rest of the way. The Aztecs shot 48.9 percent on the night (23-of-47), including 33.3 percent from beyond the arc (5-of-15), and 60.0 percent from the free throw line (6-of-10).

Utah State shot 41.7 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-24) and 78.6 percent from the charity stripe (11-of-14). The Aggies owned the Aztecs on the glass, outrebounding SDSU 35-21. USU turned nine of its offensive rebounds into nine second-chance points.

The Aggies return to action on Saturday, Jan. 29, at 8 p.m. (MT), when they hit the road to take on Nevada (9-8, 3-3) at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nevada.

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.

-USU-