Utah State squandered a 12-point second half lead and fell to the University of Pacific 86-79 at the Spanos Center Saturday night.
The Aggies led 43-34 at halftime and 48-36 early in the second half but couldn't hold on as they turned the ball over several times down the stretch. A 28-13 run by Pacific made the difference at the end.The Aggies played without Coach Kohn Smith who stayed at Stockton Hilton with a bad case of the flu. Assistant Coach Jimmy Moore took over the reins for the game.
"We just didn't execute as well in the second half," said Moore. "The thing that really hurt us was our turnovers at the end. We turned the ball over three times in a row and they went down and scored."
The Aggies trailed just 79-76 when the key turnovers happened. USU had just 16 turnovers for the game, but most they came at the key stretch of the game.
Jay Goodman led the Aggies with 19 points, leaving him just 11 points short of the career 1,000-point mark. Todd Gentry made his first start of the year and hit his season high with 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting, including 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Carlito DaSilva added 12 points off the bench for the Aggies.
The Tigers were led by Tony Amundsen, who scored 27 points, including four 3-pointers. Ben Rishwain added 15 and Robert Richardson chipped in 14 points and 12 rebounds. Pacific improves to 4-3 in the Big West and 8-7 overall.
With the loss the Aggies fall to 3-3 in the Big West and 6-8 overall. They play at San Jose State Tuesday and meet UNLV Saturday at home.