Logan • Utah State made one of its emotional runs of the season to erase a 13-point halftime gap, but it still wasn’t enough to knock off the Western Athletic Conference leaders.

Louisiana Tech escaped Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Saturday night with a 51-48 win, a 3-pointer by Raheem Appleby making the difference. The Aggies got a career-best 21 points out of Jarred Shaw and tied it with less than two minutes to go, but couldn’t come up with the win.

Ben Clifford’s game-tying attempt at the buzzer bounced off the rim, dealing Utah State its first-ever four-game losing streak under Stew Morrill.

The Aggies shot abysmally in the game, managing only 27.3 percent from the field. But the Bulldogs shot worse late, going only 5 for 27 in the second half. Leading scorer Brandon Gibson left the game after getting knocked flat late.

Shaw had a double-double with 14 rebounds, helping the Aggies gain a 50-31 advantage on the boards. Spencer Butterfield added 16 points and 15 rebounds.

kgoon@sltrib.com

Twitter: @kylegoon

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