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San Jose, Calif. • Utah State got off to a fast start in the Mountain West Conference race Wednesday night.

Jalen Moore scored 21 points and his brother, Grayson Moore, added 12 to lead the Aggies to an 80-71 victory over San Jose State in the league opener for both teams.

Utah State beat the Spartans for the 17th straight time. The Aggies improved to 38-4 against San Jose dating to 1988.

In the first half, Utah State owned a 23-21 lead after Grayson Moore scored eight points in the 4 1/2-minute stretch. He entered the game averaging 2.5 points per game.

At that point, the Aggies took control.

Jalen Moore's jumper with 6:36 remaining in the half trigged a 14-2 run. Over the next three minutes, Utah State built a 37-23 lead.

At halftime, the Aggies had a 45-31 advantage. Jalen Moore had 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting. Grayson Moore contributed 10 points.

San Jose used a 14-2 run early in the second half to get as close at 49-45. But Jalen Moore and Darius Perkins hit back-to-back three-pointers and Utah State eventually built a 17-point lead with 6:38 remaining.

Going into the game, Utah State coach Tim Duryea knew San Jose State was improved over last season, when the Spartans went 2-28 overall and 0-18 in the Mountain West.

He called the Spartans "a very big, long, athletic team. … They are a totally different team than they were last year, when they had so many issues with health and suspensions. It's almost like playing a new team and a new coach [because] they're doing a lot of different things."

Duryea believed one of the Aggies major issues against San Jose would be rebounding, although USU held its own on the glass. In the end, San Jose out-rebounded Utah State, 36-30.

"That is one of the areas that we have to make sure to cover," he said. "We are a little undersized so we need to put bodies on people and clear some space for ourselves so we can get on the boards."

With its fourth straight win, Utah State improved to 9-3 heading into Saturday night's showdown with San Diego State at the Spectrum. -

Storylines

R Utah State opens Mountain West Conference play with an 80-71 victory at San Jose State.

• Jalen Moore scores 14 of his 21 points in the first half, when the Aggies built a 45-31 lead.

• Utah State returns home Saturday night and plays San Diego State at the Spectrum.