Logan » Everyone associated with Utah State basketball and all the great scorers around the Western Athletic Conference knows that Pooh Williams, the Aggies junior forward, is a great defender.

What people didn't know was that Williams can score the ball a little as well, something he proved loudly on Wednesday night against Louisiana Tech.

Williams, in leading Utah State to an important 67-61 win over the Bulldogs, scored all 15 of his points in the second half before a soldout Spectrum and a national ESPN2 audience.

With their 11th consecutive win, the Aggies, (21-6, 11-2), increase their lead in the WAC by a half game over idle New Mexico State. The Bulldogs fall another game behind the Aggies and will be hard-pressed to catch USU over the next two weeks. The victory also allows Utah State to stay in contention for an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament.

"I just wanted to be aggressive because I had a rough start," Williams said. "One thing that coach told us was to keep shooting and our shots were going to fall. I really didn't want to lose to those guys again. We lost to them at their place and it was the worst feeling ever."

Williams was simply heroic in this one. At one point, he scored 11 straight points. He put Utah State on his back on one end and harassed Kyle Gibson, one of the best players in the conference, into a 4-for-18 performance on the other end of the court.

"This was Pooh's finest moment as an Aggie," USU coach Stew Morrill said.

In a game where offense was at a premium, defense ruled the day. Utah State, such a good shooting team over the last month, was held way below it's season average, percentage wise, from the field. In the first half, the Aggies shot 41.9 percent from the floor, 3-for-8 from three-point range and struggled to get second shots.

In winning this game, the Aggies made all the big plays down the stretch. Nate Bendall's three-point play gave Utah State a 63-58 lead with under a minute remaining. Tyler Newbold came up with a huge steal, and then knocked down two important free throws on the other.

Williams' hanging bank shot with two minutes remaining gave the Aggies a 58-54 lead. Gibson, who did make shots towards the end of the game, came back with a hard drive to the basket and a lay-up to draw the Bulldogs within 58-56.

Nate Bendall dunked on the other end to give the Aggies a 60-56 advantage. Magnum Rolle then came back with a pair of free throws.

"This was a good college basketball game," Morrill said. "We haven't had a close game in a while, and the guys really responded tonight. When the game was on the line, we made some plays. That was the difference."

tjones@sltrib.com