HONOLULU — Steve Ashworth was perfect from long distance, making three of Utah State’s 11 3-pointers, and scored 12 points in a balanced attack that led the Aggies to an 82-73 win Sunday against Washington State in the third-place game of the Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center on the campus of the University of Hawaii.
Utah State was 11-of-17 behind the arc (64.7%) and 32-for-53 overall (60.4%), both numbers better than the Aggies managed from the foul line, where they were 7-of-15.
"Utah State has got some experience, good ballhandling and a really good offensive team. It's really hard to beat anyone who goes 11-for-17 from 3. We kept competing until the end, and I'm really proud of the guys for that. A hat tip to Utah State. They're really, really good."
Taylor Funk and Trevin Dorius also had 12 points apiece for the Aggies (11-2), Sean Bairstow and Max Shulga each had 11 and Dan Akin was 5-for-5 shooting and added 10 points.
Sophomore forward Mouhamed Gueye scored 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Cougars (5-8). Junior guard TJ Bamba was 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 19 points. Junior guard Justin Powell added 10 points.
"That's a testament to them keeping on grinding and keep getting better," Smith said. "Hopefully we can get back home and get some confidence."
Washington State was 2-of-17 (11.8%) from 3-point range and shot 24-of-54 (44.4%) overall but was 23-of-26 (88.5%) from the foul line.
Utah State was 7-of-11 shooting from long range in the first half with five different players connection, to take a 42-29 lead. The Cougars missed all seven of their shots from distance.
A three-point play by junior forward Andrej Jakimovski and a layup by junior forward Carlos Rosario on the next possession had Washington State within 50-41 but that was the only time the difference was in single digits in the second half until Bamba scored at the buzzer to cap a 7-0 WSU finish.
The difference was 10 until Utah State went on a 12-0 run in the middle of the second half, with Ashworth hitting at jumper at 9:34 to make it 73-51. Ashworth hit a 3 on the next possession for the biggest lead of the game, 76-53, with 8:48 to play. WSU answered with a 9-0 before the closing burst.
Washington State next plays at 8 p.m. Friday at home against UCLA.
UTAH ST. (11-2)
Funk 5-10 0-0 12, Dorius 4-6 4-6 12, Bairstow 4-8 1-4 11, Jones 4-7 0-1 9, Shulga 4-6 1-1 11, Ashworth 4-6 1-2 12, Akin 5-5 0-1 10, Eytle-Rock 1-1 0-0 3, Hamoda 0-3 0-0 0, Zapala 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 32-53 7-15 82.
WASHINGTON ST. (5-8)
Gueye 9-15 4-4 22, Rodman 2-3 2-3 6, Bamba 4-12 10-12 19, Houinsou 1-2 2-2 4, Powell 3-9 4-4 10, Rosario 3-4 0-0 7, Jakimovski 1-4 1-1 3, Mullins 0-3 0-0 0, Darling 1-2 0-0 2, B.Korpela 0-0 0-0 0, Diongue 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-54 23-26 73.
Halftime: Utah St., 42-29. 3-Point Goals: Utah St. 11-17 (Ashworth 3-3, Bairstow 2-3, Shulga 2-3, Funk 2-5, Eytle-Rock 1-1, Jones 1-2), Washington St. 2-17 (Rosario 1-1, Bamba 1-5, Darling 0-1, Gueye 0-1, Rodman 0-1, Jakimovski 0-2, Mullins 0-2, Powell 0-4). Rebounds: Utah St. 24 (Bairstow 5), Washington St. 26 (Gueye 12). Assists: Utah St. 21 (Ashworth 5), Washington St. 8 (Bamba 4). Total Fouls: Utah St. 21, Washington St. 14. Technicals: Shulga 2.
