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San Jose • The longest drought between games in Utah State's Mountain West Conference season didn't affect the Aggies on Wednesday night.

Jalen Moore scored 20 points, and Chris Smith added 17 to lead Utah State to a 76-54 victory over San Jose State.

Playing for the first time in a week, the Aggies improved to 15-10 overall and 8-5 in league play. The Spartans, who have not beaten a Division I opponent this season, dropped to 2-23 and 0-13.

Utah State broke away after starting point guard Darius Perkins was ejected because of a flagrant foul with 5:50 left in the first half.

It was 25-20 when the Aggies converted seven straight possessions. They used a 15-3 run to build a 40-23 lead and cruise to victory.

Going into the game, Utah State coach Stew Morrill was wary of the Spartans, despite their dreary record.

"They have struggled," he said. "But they have also played some close games, [and] it looks like, at some point, they're going to find a way to win one or two. What you want to do is avoid being that one or two."

Morrill believed the Aggies' ability to refocus after the break would be critical.

"Will we be rusty or rested?" he said. "Hopefully we're rested a little bit and have some energy to play. You get to the latter part of February and that's a key. … Do you have energy? Are you still enjoying playing? Do you still want to play? That becomes a factor."

Utah State had enough energy against San Jose State, which dropped to 1-30 in Mountain West games since joining the league last season.

"It takes time, especially taking over a program that is basically restarting from scratch," said coach Dave Wojcik. "It's really hard. You have to be older in this league. That's the key. And that's what I've said from Day One. You don't see programs like ours turning it around in the first or second year. You see it turned in Years 4, 5 and 6 — after you get a few recruiting classes."

Despite the lack of success in his first two seasons at San Jose, Wojcik believes the situation will eventually improve.

"When I first researched this job, I thought we could get it done here," he said. "… If it kills me, I'm going to get this program on the right path." —

Storylines

R Jalen Moore scores 20 points to lead Utah State.

• The Aggies break open a close game with 15-3 run late in the first half.