Logan » The rust was there in the first half. The timing was a little off and that was primarily the cause for a few anxious first-half moments for Utah State on Tuesday night against Western Oregon.

But with the Aggies playing a Division II team that was outmanned and unable to keep up a furious pace over 40 minutes, it was almost a given that USU would eventually pull away.

And that's exactly what happened before 9,368 at the Spectrum. Utah State, behind bruising play in the paint and a huge rebounding advantage, defeated the Wolves 78-42 in a game in which the Aggies took their foot off the pedal with five minutes remaining.

"In games like this, you kind of expect to automatically be up by 30 points," USU coach Stew Morrill said. "But it doesn't always happen that way. They've got good guys. They are well coached. You just don't easily go out there and dominate. You've got to play through some things."

With the win, the Aggies (10-4) finish their nonconference portion of the schedule with their first four-game winning streak of the season. And now comes the big test, a Western Athletic Conference slate that includes five road games in their first seven contests.

"It's going to be hard, and it's going to be difficult, but we're just going to have to come out and play with a lot of energy," senior point guard Jared Quayle said.

If Tuesday night's performance is any indication, Quayle's ready for league play. He scored a game-high 18 points. He took six shots to get there, making five of them, going 4-for-4 from three point range and hitting all four of his foul shots.

Production wise, it was Quayle's most efficient game of the season, as he played just 19 minutes.

He also had help. Tai Wesley scored 14 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked four shots. Tyler Newbold came up with his first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds, and Brady Jardine set a new career high or the third time this season with 11 points.

But what set Utah State apart, on this night, was the defense. The Aggies held the Wolves to 19 percent shooting from the field in the second half. The defensive rotations were quicker, USU outrebounded its counterparts 42-24 and the Aggies forced Western Oregon into 16 turnovers.

For the game, Utah State never trailed and was tied just once, when Mike McLaughlin hit a three-pointer for the Wolves to knot the game at 3-3 on the second possession of the contest. The Aggies promptly went on an 11-0 run to lead 14-3. And though Western Oregon (6-3) rallied to close the gap to 23-19 on a Rico Myles layup, Utah State went on a 23-11 run to lead 46-30 at the half.

tjones@sltrib.com