Box Score LOGAN, Utah – And, the streak lives on. But, just barely.
 
In danger of seeing its 29-game home winning streak against San José State snapped by the Spartans, Utah State rallied from as many as 11 points down, including by six with less than five minutes to go, to eke out a 75-74 victory on Saturday at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
 
Junior guard Max Shulga made the second of two free throw attempts with five seconds left to give the Aggies (16-4, 5-2 Mountain West) their final margin of victory over the gritty Spartans (12-8, 3-4 MW).
 
SJSU had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Alvaro Cardenas' 3-point attempt was off the mark, preserving the Aggies' win and extending their home winning streak over the Spartans to 30.
 
Cardenas finished with 17 points for San José State, which has not won in Logan since Feb. 25, 1982. The Spartans' Tibet Gorener led all scorers in the game with 20 points off the bench, while Omari Moore had 16 points and eight assists for the visitors.
 
Junior guard Steven Ashworth led the Aggies with 19 points and six assists, Shulga had 15 and grad senior forward Dan Akin had 13 points and a team-best seven rebounds off the bench.
 
A jumper by Moore gave SJSU a 70-64 advantage with 4:42 to go in the game, but USU clawed back and regained the lead when Ashworth drilled a 3-pointer to make it 74-72 with 1:44 remaining.
 
The Spartans' Sage Tolbert tied it at 74-apiece with 1:25 left when he scored on a layup, setting up the down-to-the-wire finish.
 
Utah State found itself in unfamiliar territory on the afternoon. For just the fifth time this season, including only the second in conference play, the Aggies found themselves trailing at the half.
 
Grad senior forward Taylor Funk gave the Aggies a 10-9 lead with 12:53 remaining in the opening half when he sank a trio of free throws after being fouled while attempting a shot from beyond the arc.
 
Akin made it 12-9 less than 30 seconds later on a dunk, but the Spartans countered with a 20-7 run to open a 29-19 lead with 5:26 left until the break. SJSU was up 37-26 with 2:02 to go before USU closed the half on a 4-0 run.
 
Utah State shot a sizzling 53.8 percent from the field on the day (28-of-52), including 43.5 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-23), but just 69.2 percent from the free throw line (9-of-13).
 
The Aggies had 19 assists on their 28 made baskets, but were outrebounded 33-27.
 
Defensively, Utah State held SJSU to 43.5 percent shooting from the field (27-of-62), including 45.5 percent from 3-point range (10-of-22). The Spartans shot 90.9 percent from the charity stripe (10-of-11).
 
NEXT GAME
 
The Aggies begin a two-game road swing through the Golden State on Wednesday, Jan. 25, when they take on San Diego State, at 7 p.m., at Viejas Arena in San Diego, California.
 
NEXT HOME GAME
 
Utah State is back at the Spectrum on Wednesday, Feb. 1, at 8:30 p.m., against New Mexico. Tickets can be purchased here.
 
For more information on Utah State's men's basketball program, follow the Aggies on Twitter at @usubasketball, on Facebook at usumensbasketball and on Instagram at usubasketball. Fans can also watch USU men's basketball highlights by visiting youtube.com/utahstateathletics.
 
-USU-