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Logan • It started with a devastating bombshell and ended in the chaotic final seconds of the Mountain West Conference tournament quarterfinals.

In between, Utah State and first-year coach Tim Duryea experienced more ups and downs than a roller-coaster customer at Lagoon.

When the wild ride came to a screeching halt, however, the Aggies had pieced together their 23rd straight winning season and, perhaps, set the table for future success.

The year started ominously, when sophomore center David Collette quit two days before the opener at Weber State.

Collette was the reigning Freshman of the Year in the Mountain West. He was also the Aggies' only low-post scoring threat and best rim protector. His departure forced Utah State to search for a new identity on the fly.

Utah State went 8-3 during the non-conference portion of its schedule, including losses to Duke (85-52), BYU (80-66) and UC Irvine (73-64).

During the Mountain West conference season, the Aggies endured a five-game losing streak and went 1-6 in games decided by seven points or less. They finished 16-15 overall and 7-11 in league play. Their final three regular-season losses included two in the last-minute to Fresno State and one at Nevada.

"We played a lot of close games this year and weren't able to close them out," sophomore guard Julion Pearre said. "But I think we're going in the right direction. We fought through a lot of adversity this year, with injuries and people leaving. But we stuck it out. We never gave up on each other."

In the Mountain West tournament, Utah State routed Wyoming in the opening round, 88-70. In the quarterfinals, they lost to top-seeded San Diego State, 71-65. The Aztecs shot 10 free throws in the final 10.3 seconds, including two after an intentional foul and two after a flagrant foul.

"Sometimes it's a bounce, it's a call, it's a tip that doesn't go your way that decides the game," Duryea said. "… Sometimes you just can't control what turns it the other way."

In all, Utah State led for 63 of the 80 minutes it played in the conference tournament.

After the loss, junior forward Jalen Moore said, "This might have been one of the hardest games we've ever been involved in. Everybody played hard. Nobody wanted to lose. … Everybody felt we would win throughout the game. I never had a thought in my mind we were going to lose until the very end."

Utah State senior guard Chris Smith struggled against 6-foot-9 Winston Shepard and and the Aztecs. He finished with four points on 1-for-5 shooting. He missed a corner three with 1:50 remaining that would have given Utah State a 64-59 lead.

In three games against San Diego State this season, Smith scored a total of 18 points on 7-for-24 shooting. He was 0-for-7 from the three-point line. On the season, he averaged 15 points a game and ranked second in the Mountain West in three-point percentage.

"Winston Shepard … does a phenomenal job on Chris," Duryea said. "His size and his tenacity as a defender really makes it hard. Chris hung in there and tried to get things going. But it's tough when you're going against [Shepard]."

Moore scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds against San Diego State. He is 27th on Utah State's all-time scoring list and should reach the top 10 next year.

"We're definitely headed in the right direction," Moore said. "Toward the end to the season, we definitely got better. Like coach said, I wish we could start over now, with the way we're playing. We'd definitely finish toward the top" of the Mountain West.

Utah State returns six of its top eight players next season, losing only point guard Darius Perkins and Smith.

— Steve Luhm