This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Logan • Utah State coach Tim Duryea got mad Wednesday night at the Spectrum.
His players took it from there.
Sent into a spinning rage by an official's call early in the second half, the normally composed Duryea was restrained by his assistants before reluctantly returning to his seat on the bench.
From there, he watched the Aggies roll to a 72-59 victory over Colorado State.
Chris Smith scored 19 points and Jalen Moore added 16, including the 1,000th of his career, as Utah State won its second straight game. The Aggies improved to 13-11 overall and 5-8 in the Mountain West Conference.
It wasn't easy, however.
Colorado State owned a 45-43 lead with 14:59 remaining after Antwan Scott's three-point play. Duryea briefly argued that Scott was fouled before his shot, but the officials sent him to the foul line.
Moments later, Aggie point guard Shane Rector also drove and scored. At first, referee Shawn Lehigh rule that the basket counted. But after he talked to lead official Randy McCall, Rector's basket was waved off.
Duryea became unglued.
"I just thought there were a couple of calls that were missed," he said after the game. "I probably overheated a little bit. Those guys do a solid job. … [But] our guys responded well. They got a little more physical and finished some plays. I was proud of them."
According to Utah State forward Lew Evans, the Aggies noticed Duryea's anger.
Referencing former coach Stew Morrill, who retired after last season, Evans said, "… You don't see Coach D. get fired up like that very often. You saw Stew do that a lot. But Coach D. is a more calm guy. When you see him do that, it brings fire to the team. It makes us want to play harder and I think that's what we did."
Evans smiled and continued: "I like it. I like that he's intense like that because it shows us that he cares for us and that he wants us to win."
After the call that upset Duryea, the Aggies inbounded to Rector, who passed to Moore. He buried an open 3-pointer, which triggered a game-turning 17-4 run.
Colorado State missed 11 of its 13 shots during the decisive six-minute stretch. The Rams also committed two turnovers. The Aggies opened a 60-49 lead with 7:25 remaining and CSU never got closer than seven points down the stretch.
Utah State, which held Colorado State to its second-lowest point-total of the season, led by as many as 10 in the first half before settling for a 37-35 lead.
"We were kind of playing soft in the first half but still had the lead," Evans said. "In the second half, we played harder, we played unselfish, we rebounded the ball and got a big win."
Said Moore: "We played pretty soft in the first half. We played a little tougher in the second half. Like coach says, the tougher team usually wins and I think we were the tougher team in the second half."
Asked about Moore's milestone, Evans said, "Jalen ... is Logan's finest. That's what I call him. He's the man out here, everywhere you go, with that afro. So it's good for him and his family."
Twitter: @sluhm -
Utah State 72, Colorado State 59
COLORADO ST. (14-12)
Omogbo 3-10 4-6 10, Daniels 2-2 0-0 4, Scott 7-19 1-1 18, De Ciman 2-7 2-4 8, Nixon 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 0-0 0-2 0, Gillon 4-14 4-4 14, Richardson III 2-6 0-0 5, Paige 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 20-61 11-17 59.
UTAH ST. (13-11)
Evans 3-8 0-2 7, J. Moore 6-12 1-4 16, Taylor 1-2 1-2 3, Perkins 3-6 0-0 8, Smith 6-10 4-4 19, Rector 3-6 3-4 9, Pearre 1-6 0-0 2, Jones 4-6 0-0 8. Totals 27-56 9-16 72.
Halftime—Utah St. 37-35. 3-Point Goals—Colorado St. 8-31 (Scott 3-10, De Ciman 2-6, Gillon 2-9, Richardson III 1-3, Omogbo 0-1, Paige 0-1, Nixon 0-1), Utah St. 9-23 (Smith 3-5, J. Moore 3-6, Perkins 2-4, Evans 1-4, Rector 0-1, Pearre 0-3). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Colorado St. 43 (Daniels 10), Utah St. 35 (Jones, J. Moore 7). Assists—Colorado St. 8 (Gillon 4), Utah St. 18 (Rector 5). Total Fouls—Colorado St. 15, Utah St. 15. A—9,377.