In terms of leadership, that was maybe his best game as an Aggie as far as what he was doing for us. – USU head coach Tim Duryea
LOGAN — After a couple of quiet games, the Aggies got what they needed Saturday night: much more Moore.
Senior forward Jalen Moore led Utah State to an 81-74 victory over Wyoming by scoring 23 points — nine more points combined than he had in USU's losses at Boise State and Colorado State. The Cache Valley native knocked down 7 of 14 shots from the floor, including 4 of 6 from 3-point range, and went 5 for 6 from the free-throw line.
But USU head coach Tim Duryea wasn't just happy with Moore's offensive stats against the Cowboys.
"I told Jalen afterwards that I thought he showed a lot of leadership on the floor," Duryea said. "We had a couple of guys struggling out there, and he did a good job of talking to those guys, communicating and keeping them on task.
"… That was really great to see from him. In terms of leadership, that was maybe his best game as an Aggie as far as what he was doing for us. Obviously he was scoring buckets and making plays for us, but I thought he did a great job in keeping us together as a group."
The Aggies (5-8 in the Mountain West, 11-13 overall) were clinging to a 76-73 lead when freshman guard Sam Merrill drove into the lane and then kicked a pass back out to Moore, who promptly buried his fourth 3-pointer of the night to extend USU's advantage to six points with 40 seconds to go.
"That sealed that game for us," USU sophomore forward Alexis Dargenton said. "We needed a shot like that, and Jalen stepped up, hit the big three, and that's how we came up with the win."
The victory ended USU's two-game losing streak and helped the Aggies avenge a 95-87 loss at Wyoming on Jan. 11. In that contest, the Cowboys (6-7, 16-10) racked up 12 3-pointers in the first half to help them build a 57-38 halftime advantage that Utah State nearly made up late in the game.
In the rematch at the Spectrum, the Cowboys still shot well from the floor (45.8 percent) and from beyond the arc (12 for 30), but the Aggies were nearly as good (44.6 percent from the field, 8 of 19 from 3-point range) while also going 23 of 27 from the free-throw line and outrebounding Wyoming 41 to 26.
"We came out and had a lot of energy," said sophomore forward Quinn Taylor, who finished the game with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists. "It showed on the rebounding total, we outrebounded them. That's a sign of our energy, and that helps us on the offensive end and defensive end."
Merrill added 13 points despite battling foul trouble throughout the second half, and Dargenton finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Freshman guard Koby McEwen struggled with his shot (2 for 10 from the field, 0 for 4 from 3-point range), but he still got to 12 points by going 8 of 10 from the free-throw line and ended up with nine rebounds, five assists and six turnovers.
Louis Adams led Wyoming with 16 points, but the junior guard scored 14 of those points in the first half — more than doubling his season scoring average in just 12 minutes. Junior guard Jeremy Lieberman (11 points) and senior guard Jason McManamen (10 points) also reached double figures for the Cowboys, but UW head coach Allen Edwards' leading scorers Justin James (nine points) and Hayden Dalton (nine points) were both held well below their season averages.
"This is one of the toughest places to play on the road, and Utah State plays well here," Edwards declared. "You have to play a near-perfect game to get a win."
The first half of the game was a back-and-forth affair, with both teams shooting an even 50 percent from the field and trading offensive spurts. Wyoming's biggest lead came at 13-10, but the Aggies quickly countered with an 11-0 run capped off by a 3-point play by Moore.
That eight-point advantage at 21-13 would be USU's biggest of the night until they equaled it late in the game. The score was tied five times in the first half and the two rivals traded leads on six occasions before intermission came with the Aggies holding a slim, 43-42 advantage.
"I thought it was a really entertaining college basketball game," Duryea said. "Lots of scoring, lots of 3-point shots. It was up-tempo; both teams trying to push the tempo. And at the end of the first half I thought we were in for another shootout, and we played about as good as we could offensively in the first half."
It was a similar story in the second half, with Wyoming's final lead of the game coming at 65-63 courtesy of a reverse layup by McManamen with 6:40 left. A 3-pointer by Merrill 21 seconds later gave USU the lead for good, and although he picked up his fourth foul shortly afterwards, Merrill still contributed some key moments down the stretch, including the pass to Moore for USU's key 3-pointer and a long defensive rebound that the Bountiful High product then turned into a pair of very critical free throws.
"I hate having to Sam sub in the last 10 minutes of the game," Duryea noted. "I want him in there for his passing, for his IQ and for his defense. But he made a couple of really big plays."
The Aggies played their third straight game without senior point guard Shane Rector, who injured his right wrist near the end of USU's win over Nevada on Feb. 1. Rector was a late scratch prior to the start of Saturday's game, and Duryea said he will likely have an MRI in the next couple of days "to make sure we didn't miss anything."