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LAS VEGAS — During Stew Morrill's tenure at Utah State, the Aggies student section wore blue latex gloves by everyone in attendance.
The tradition, which faded into the past following Morrill's retirement, made an unlikely reappearance on Saturday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Hundreds of students who made the trip for the Mountain West championship game against San Diego State wore the gloves in hopes to aid the magic that found Utah State on a seven-game win streak and in the title game.
The sentimental ploy was no match for the San Diego State defense, though.
Playing in back-to-back games that ended near midnight on Thursday and Friday, the Aggies had to turn around and play Saturday afternoon. As a result, Utah State was clearly sluggish against an elite Aztecs defense and shot just 37.5% in a 62-57 defeat.
San Diego State also appeared weary and shot just 33.3%, but its superior depth and a 45-37 advantage in the rebounding battle proved to be the difference.
"They're very tough. They're very deep. They're very physical. They just have a well-rounded bunch," Utah State head coach Ryan Odom said. "And they keep coming at you, and their guys play off each other really well."
The Aggies trailed by 7 points with two minutes left to play, and showed tremendous fight late to cut the Aztecs lead to two. But Utah State missed out on its final opportunity.
On a 4-0 run, the Aggies forced an Aztecs turnover and trailed by 3 points with 48 seconds left and the ball. Opting not to hit Sean Bairstow as he flashed to the basket, Steven Ashworth kicked the ball out to Taylor Funk, who missed a corner 3-pointer. And San Diego State hit its free throws late to pull away.
It's the Aztecs second Mountain West Tournament title in three years, and it's a third win over the Aggies this season.
"I didn't feel like we were fatigued at all," Ashworth said. "I felt like we had the energy and the juice and the stamina. You saw us right down to the final minutes fighting right there with them."
Though adamant he wasn't tired, Ashworth admitted he got "about 4.5 hours of sleep" after the quick turnaround. Despite it, Utah State started the game strong. Utah State had success early in the first half with its pick-and-roll; Max Shulga found Dan Akin on the roll for three buckets, and Bairstow connected with a rolling Trevin Dorius to send the glove-wearing Aggies fans into hysteria. The Aggies led 26-15 with 6:57 left in the half.
In a timeout, San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher adjusted the pick-and-roll coverage, and the Aztecs started to switch on every ball screen. Moments later, Ashworth exited the game with foul trouble. The combination resulted in an Aggies 1-of-10 shooting drought to close the half as the Aztecs went on a 12-2 run.
San Diego State, who shot just 33.3% for the game, built upon its lead behind the 15-point, nine-rebound effort from Jaedon LeDee, and 14-point effort from tournament MVP Matt Bradley. The pair hit back-to-back buckets to lead by eight midway through the second half.
The depth of San Diego State aided its success in the second half, as nine different players scored, and the pace of play never dropped despite foul trouble.
"They keep coming at you, and their guys play off each other really well," Odom said. "When one's not playing well, another guy steps up. They're able to rest their guys more than most teams, and so when they are on the bench, they get their energy back and then they come back in."
The Aggies, who reached the title game by winning two hard-fought games against New Mexico and Boise State, tried to keep the magic alive late in the second half, but didn't get their way on a handful of toss-up calls.
WIth 6:15 left, Funk buried a 3-pointer to take a 47-46 lead, but it was reviewed and overturned due to a shot clock violation. Moments later, Bradley and Ashworth collided, and the latter was whistled for a blocking foul. Bradley's ensuing free throws kickstarted a 5-0 San Diego State run and a 7-point lead late.
"Yeah, that was a difficult moment for sure," Ashworth said of the shot clock violation. "We thought it was good. I'm a Nazi for the rules, and so I thought because they called it good they weren't able to review it unless they called it a shot clock first. So I was a little confused and didn't quite get an answer. It's really close."
For the game, the Aggies shot 7-of-14 from the free-throw line, and 4-of-24 from 3-point range, a clear indication of weary legs. From here, Utah State turns its attention to "getting some sleep" and hoping for its name to be called on Selection Sunday.
All the while, the success of the blue latex gloves remain a thing of the past.
