Utah State 97, Cal Poly 57
LOGAN, Utah - Three players in double-figures leading to a 64.9 percent field goal shooting effort plus and a 15-1 second-half run paced Utah State to a 97-57 rout of Cal Poly Saturday in men's basketball action at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
USU improved to 4-0 with the win while Cal Poly fell to 1-4. Utah State holds a 16-2 advantage over Cal Poly, including 9-0 at home. The Aggies have now won 56 consecutive regular season non-conference home games which is the second-longest in the country behind Duke's 59 straight.
Senior forward Gary Wilkinson netted a game-high 21 points, the third time in four games that he's led the Aggies in scoring. Junior guard Stavon Williams was 5-of-6 from three-point range to finish with 15 points and sophomore forward Tai Wesley added 14.
Wilkinson snared a game-high nine rebounds, leading USU to a dominating 37-20 rebounding advantage, while sophomore center Modou Niang and sophomore forward Matt Formisano pulled down six each.
Chaz Thomas was the only Mustang player in double-figures with 18 points off the bench, while David Hanson had five rebounds.
USU pulled away from an 18-18 tie with a 7-0 run, capped by a turnaround jumper from Formisano and Cal Poly never got closer than five points from there on out. The lead hit double-digits for the first time at 33-22 on a jumper from sophomore guard Tyler Newbold with 4:28 left in the half and the Aggies took a 46-30 lead into halftime.
Back-to-back Wilkinson layups put USU ahead by 20 for the first time at 50-30 and the Aggies later led 67-42 before Williams put on his long-range clinic. Formisano hit a jumper before Williams hit from all over behind the arc, draining three treys in just under a four minute span. A jumper and a dunk from Niang capped the 15-1 run, putting the Aggies ahead, 82-43 with 7:23 remaining and USU cruised to the victory.
Utah State shot a scorching season-best 64.9 percent (37-of-57) from the field, nearly matching it with 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from three-point range. The Aggies also were 82.4 percent (14-of-17) free throw shooting, USU's best outing at the free pitch line this season.
Cal Poly was 24-of-57 (42.1 percent) overall, including a better percentage from three-point range at 53.8 percent (7-of-13). The Mustangs hit just 2-of-5 (40.0 percent) from the charity stripe.
USU continues its three-game homestand by hosting UC Irvine on Tuesday, Dec. 7. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.