Box Score
by: Ashley Springer, USU Athletic Media Relations
LOGAN, Utah - Utah State men's basketball (18-16) finished its 2021-22 campaign inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Tuesday with an 83-72 loss to Oregon (20-14) in the first round of the NIT.
Sophomore guard
Steven Ashworth led the Aggies with 20 points, while senior forward
Brandon Horvath had 15 and junior guard
Sean Bairstow had 12. Senior forward
Justin Bean led the Aggies on the glass with 16 rebounds and was one point shy of his 21st double-double of the season, finishing with nine points.
Oregon jumped out to an early 10-2 lead in the first half, but the Aggies responded with an 11-0 run following three Ashworth triples and a layup from sophomore guard
Max Shulga to take the 13-10 advantage with 13:47 to play.
The game went back and forth until another 11-0 USU run, capped by a Bairstow layup, gave Utah State the 32-23 edge with under five minutes to go in the first. The Aggies held onto the lead for the 37-33 advantage going into the break.
The Ducks came out hot in the second half, outscoring the Aggies 50-35 in the period and shooting 55.9 percent (19-of-34) from the field.
A 10-2 run to open the second half gave Oregon a 43-39 lead with 17:45 on the clock. After some back and forth, a 7-0 Duck run gave Oregon the double-digit advantage at 61-48 with just under nine minutes remaining.
The Ducks maintained the double-digit lead for the remainder of the game. Ashworth scored the final points of the contest after knocking down his sixth 3-pointer of the night as Oregon posted the 83-72 win.
USU finished the night shooting 38.5 percent (25-of-65) from the floor, 32.1 percent (9-of-28) from behind the 3-point line and 61.9 percent (13-of-21) at the free throw line. Oregon shot 50.8 percent (33-of-65) from the field, 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from behind the 3-point line and 64.3 percent (9-of-14) at the free throw line.
Utah State men's basketball news and information is available on Facebook (facebook.com/usumensbasketball), on Twitter (@usubasketball) and on Instagram (@usubasketball). Fans can also get USU men's basketball highlights on YouTube (youtube.com/utahstateathletics). Aggie fans can follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter (@usuathletics), on Facebook (facebook.com/usuathletics) or on Instagram (@usuathletics).
