LOGAN — In the week leading up to Utah State's crucial Big West Conference match-up with UC Irvine Thursday, there seemed to be so many distractions pulling the Aggies in different directions that the game seemed almost secondary.
Coach Stew Morrill was listed as one of the top candidates for the soon-to-be vacant head coaching job at the University of Utah. Also, the status of junior starter Spencer Nelson, who broke his nose last week, was somewhat in question.
Not to mention the Aggies were riding a 12-game winning streak, undefeated in league play, and they were banging hard on the door of the nation's Top 25.
But they couldn't afford to lose focus on the Anteaters, who had beaten the Aggies the last two times the teams played in Logan.
For the first 15 minutes it appeared the off-the-floor distractions were taking their toll of the Aggies, but they responded with a 57-48 victory.
"It was a good thing we were at home tonight. The crowd was awesome and it gave us energy," Morrill said. "You can let it be a distraction, or you can realize that some good things are happening."
The Aggies shot a season-low 26.7 percent from the field in the first half (2 of 9 from behind the arc) and trailed by as many as 10 points. Nate Harris, who entered the game shooting 70 percent, missed point-blank shots; Cardell Butler was struggling for the third straight game; and Morrill liberally used nine players while searching for the right combination.
"We were fortunate to get out with a 'W' because we weren't at our best," Morrill said. "We did play hard. It wasn't like we weren't trying. In the first half we didn't screen, didn't execute and we were missing calls. The second half we played much better."
Nelson came off the bench and proved to be the spark plug the Aggies needed in erasing the deficit and tying the game, 22-22, at the half. He had six points, six rebounds and two steals in the first 20 minutes.
The Aggies trailed 22-12 with 4:53 left in the half, but they held the Anteaters scoreless down the stretch to forge the tie. Butler and Mark Brown delivered three-point buckets in that stretch.
In the second half it was Butler's turn, and it couldn't have come at a better time. In his two previous games, at Fullerton and Riverside, Butler combined to score just 13 points.
Butler, who had five points at the half, scored the Aggies' first six, including a manufactured three-point play, to open the second half and build a 28-24 lead with just under 18 minutes left.
Also, the Aggie defense forced an Irvine shot-clock violation and another wild shot to avoid another.
Brown also added five straight points, and the Aggies led by nine with just over 15 minutes left. Butler added a steal, dunk and foul following Brown's run to cap a 14-0 run.
"Cardell in the second half was huge," Morrill said. "He made some shots."
In all, the Anteaters scored just two points in 12 minutes, spanning the last of the first half and the first six minutes of the second.
The Anteaters whittled away at the Aggie lead and cut it two three points on five straight points by Adam Parada and a buck by Jeff Gloger with 4:09 left in the game.
The previous five meetings between the two teams were decided by seven points or less, with three being decided by one point and another by two.
With the win the Aggies notch their 13th consecutive victory and improved to 16-1 overall and 8-0 in league play, while the Anteaters fell to 9-8 and 4-4 in BWC action.
Butler finished with 22 points and Brown scored eight. Nelson, noticeably gassed from the first half, scored just three points in the second half and had eight for the game, but he pulled down a team-high 11 rebounds. Harris heated up and ended with 12 points and five rebounds.
Mike Efevberha paced the Anteaters with 14 points and Parada added nine points.
The Aggies are back in action Saturday 7 p.m. when they host Long Beach at the Smith Spectrum.
E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com