Utah
Utah State knocks off No. 19 San Diego State
There was no storming of the court this time after the Aggies knocked off a ranked opponent at the Spectrum. But make no mistake, Tuesday night’s 68-63 win over 19th-ranked San Diego State was absolutely worthy of a celebration.
“I know we’re not getting ice cream, but they should just give everybody ice cream anyway after this one,” proclaimed USU head coach Danny Sprinkle, referencing the Culver’s promotion that rewards Aggie fans anytime their team scores 80 or more points.
“I’m obviously super proud of our team the way they responded against a team that was the national runner-up last year, with a lot of players back.”
The Aggies (22-5, 10-4), who were tied for first place in the Mountain West with the Aztecs (20-7, 9-5) coming into the game, had a woeful performance at Colorado State last Saturday. Utah State lost to the Rams by 20 points in Fort Collins after beating then-13th ranked CSU at the Spectrum on Jan. 6.
Utah State looked like a very different, much more determined team on Tuesday while taking over sole possession for first place and becoming just the third Aggie team ever to beat two or more ranked opponents in the same season. The 1959-60 team beat three teams in the AP Top 25, while the 2006-07 squad beat two ranked opponents.
“I think a lot of times people hit the panic button on us when things go bad,” noted graduate senior guard Darius Brown II. “But we knew this whole week that if we defended, rebounded and limiting their second-chance points that we’d be fine.
“I know this team. I know we’re fighters. And I knew we’d fine.”
Brown certainly backed up that confidence by leading all scorers with 25 points in 39 minutes in a winning effort. The Southern California native went 8 of 13 from the field, including 5 of 9 from 3-point range, and delivered some of the biggest plays of the game for the Aggies.
“Darius is from Pasadena, right up the road from San Diego State, and watched them growing up,” Sprinkle noted. “I’m really proud of his effort, and all the guys. I told them before the game that this was a chance to show how great they are. ‘This is why you came to play in the Mountain West, on national TV against a national runner-up. Go show who you are.’ And they did.”
The Aggies, who lost at San Diego State, 81-67, on Feb. 3, also got 17 points from Brown’s former Montana State teammate, Great Osobor. The junior forward scored 13 of those points in the second half, while also adding seven rebounds and seven assists.
Sprinkle definitely enjoyed watching his leading scorer go toe-to-toe in the paint with SDSU’s top scorer Jameson LeDee, who led the Aztecs with 23 points on 8 of 13 shooting.
“That was like two big hogs, just literally mud wrestling the entire game,” Sprinkle said of the Osobor vs. LeDee matchup. “I mean, those are two of the best bigs in the country going at it for 40 minutes on offense and defense, and it was fun to watch.”
Utah State, which also got 10 points from freshman guard Mason Falslev, ended up shooting 49% as a team for the game, including a 7-for-22 effort from 3-point range.
San Diego State won the rebounding battle, 34-31, and the Aztecs shot 42.9% for the game. But a 3-of-19 performance from beyond the arc certainly hurt their chances of sweeping the season series from the Aggies.
“Darius Brown was sensational. 8 for 13, 5 for 9 from 3, 4 for 4 from the foul line. He played sensational,” SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher said. “And (Great) Osobor does what he does. Solid game. Two-for-two at half. We were doubling when he was passing it out, did a good job moving the ball. But we didn’t make enough timely plays.
“As uninspired as we looked like we played at times, we just couldn’t get over the hump.”
Utah State opened the game with a confidence-building 6-0 burst as the Aztecs missed their first six shot attempts and didn’t notch their first field goal until nearly four minutes into the contest. San Diego State rebounded to lead by as many as three points midway through the first half, but the Aggies closed out the half with an 8-1 run that left the hosts up 31-26 at halftime.
Brown, who scored the final bucket of the first half, then opened the second half with a 3-pointer that ended up as a five-point play for the Aggies when Isaac Johnson turned a SDSU foul into a layup that left USU suddenly up by 10 points.
“That was huge,” Sprinkle said of the 5-0 second-half start. “And that was due to an effort play by Fish (Johnson), who was tackled when going to the offensive glass.
“We always talk about winning the last four minutes of the first half, and the first four minutes of the second half because a lot of teams lose games in those eight minutes of a game.”
San Diego State eventually ended up trimming USU’s lead down to just one point at 59-58 with just over five minutes left, but an offensive putback by Johnson helped steady the ship and the Aggies ended up never trailing in the second half.
The biggest shot of the game was delivered by Brown with two minutes left. Working down low, Osobor had his shot attempt come up short, but Falslev flew into the paint to tip the rebound out to Brown on the perimeter.
“Shout out to Mason for crashing. We were talking about rebounding and Mason came in and crashed and got a tip. I happened to be right in the area and it landed right to me,” Brown recalled. “I saw the shot clock was close to two seconds, so I knew I just had to put the shot up. Luckily when Mason tipped it, I caught it in perfect rhythm.”
Brown knocked down the 3-pointer to stake the Aggies to a 64-58 lead that forced Dutcher into using a timeout.
The crowd of 9,233 then weathered a couple of tense minutes that included Osobor blocking away a key shot attempt by LeDee and two clutch free throws by Falslev that all but secured the victory for the Aggies, who now control their own destiny with four games left to play. Utah State has this weekend off before returning to action Feb. 27 at Fresno State.
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — The man arrested for murder in the 2006 death of his wife at a Utah national park left behind a suicide note in his Las Vegas jail cell, according to a police report.
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police released a public report on the death of David Vander Meer, 49, who was in custody on an out-of-state warrant.
The Washington County District Attorney’s Office said in an affidavit that Vander Meer, a former youth pastor, was a suspect in the death of his then-wife, 28-year-old Bernadette Vander Meer, 20 years ago.
Bernadette fell to her death at Angels Landing in Zion National Park. Prosecutors said in their affidavit that they received new information implicating David, alleing that he began having a close relationship with a young girl when she was 14 and he was her youth pastor.
A fugitive task force took Vander Meer into custody in Summerlin, according to an arrest report, and he was booked into Clark County Detention Center on June 22.
In the report on his death, LVMPD said a corrections officer was conducting visual checks at about 9:30 p.m. June 24 when he noticed Vander Meer lying face down on the ground and unresponsive.
Several sections are redacted, but police wrote that the officer performed chest compressions until medical personnel arrived. Vander Meer was taken to UMC, where he was pronounced dead just after 2:36 a.m. June 25.
Investigators wrote that because of “the nature of his case,” Vander Meer was placed into protective custody. He was seen sitting upright and awake at 9 p.m., and he had no known medical conditions. He also did not mention being suicidal during a mental health screening.
Inside the cell, police wrote that Vander Meer “left a hand written suicide letter and a hand written will in his cell which has been photographed and impounded.” The following paragraph of the report was redacted, and no further details on Vander Meer’s death were disclosed.
The Clark County Coroner’s Office has not yet released its official rulings on his cause and manner of death.
Bernadette’s parents, Richard and Laura Gudenkauf, told News 3 they long suspected Vander Meer played a role in her death.
“Because of the girlfriend,” said Laura. “I found insurance policies months later that he had, lots of them.”
It has been a long time since the Jazz last played a meaningful game I desperately wanted them to win, and it is unhealthy how excited I am for this matchup. After a solid three games in the SLC Summer League, the Jazz head south to Las Vegas, and as hot as the desert sun is sure to be outside, on the court, the Thursday night primetime game featuring the top two picks in the draft will be much hotter.
How to Watch the Las Vegas Summer League?
Who: Utah Jazz vs Washington Wizards
When: Thursday, July 9, 2026 | 7:00 MT
Where: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, NV
How to watch: ESPN, Jazz+
Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa
Summer league games do not matter in the record books, but this game is a statement-making opportunity for both AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson. Given the historical nature of this draft class, especially at the top, there is some real juice to this game that is atypical of most Summer League games. AJ has the chance to silence the noise that has swelled after Darryn’s remarkable performances in the SLC Summer League. Meanwhile, Darryn has the chance to ratchet up the noise and take the NBA world by storm with another solid performance against the Wizards. Can you imagine the narratives if Darryn were to come out and dominate AJ as he has through high school and college? In the words of the great Charles Barkley, I have two words for you… Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, must-see TV.
Ace Bailey looked really impressive in his 2.5 quarters of play in Salt Lake before missing games with back spasms. It is unknown whether or not he will be ready to go for the Vegas opener, but if he is available, he will probably be the one checking AJ Dybantsa on defense. His combination of length and athleticism could not only make things difficult for AJ on the defensive end but also expose his lackadaisical defense on the offensive end. If Ace is able to go, he will be looking to show the Jazz and the NBA that he is ready to take a leap in year two.
Which Jazz Big Man Will Stand Out?
Which big man will step up this game? In Game 1, we saw a lot of Kylor Kelley, who was a little less than impressive. Against Memphis, Jaxon Kohler, the Utah native, showed up and showed out against Cam Boozer. In game three, although the number of NBA-level players was few and far between, Jonas Aidoo stole the show with his rebounding and ability to play his role. Will we see one of those same three guys seize their opportunity, or will another guy like Micah Handlogten or Eric Dixon steal the show? We saw how vital a big that can roll and catch passes is for Darryn Peterson as a lead guard, playmaking-wise. It will be interesting to see who steps up to the plate to relieve pressure when he is blitzed and double-teamed.
SIDE NOTE: Adam Silver is LAME
No one should ASPIRE to be as boring as Adam Silver. After much excitement was made about Keyonte George making his unofficial coaching debut on Thursday night, according to Sarah Todd, the league has nixed that excitement and won’t allow Keyonte to be coaching on the sideline because who knows why…? I guess they were worried about the Jazz circumventing the salary cap to pay Keyonte or something. Anyways, I guess Will Hardy’s coaching TREE will have to wait for more branches to grow. Adam Silver remains evil in my book.
SALT LAKE CITY, UT (Good Things Utah) – A Park City charitable foundation is challenging outdoor athletes to turn their miles into meals for hungry kids. Terrence Moorehead is the co-founder of the non-profit RipLine Foundation. He says the RipLine Foundation seeks to channel the energy of Utah’s outdoor athletes, adventurers, and enthusiasts into the fight against childhood hunger. RipLine’s mission: Fight Hunger Feed the Future. It’s delivered through three peer‑to‑peer leader challenges across the year that turn movement into meals for children in need. 100% of funds raised go directly to vetted giving partners, including No Kid Hungry, Feeding America, Feed the Children, and Vitamin Angels.
The challenge is to turn every mile walked, run, biked, or hiked, and every hole of golf played into meals for kids facing food insecurity. Terrence says ‘Outdoor athletes are the most generous, motivated, and passionate community in the state and we’re done pretending we can’t do something to help our kids. Every mile is a meal. Every climb is a meal. Every round of golf is a meal. If you’re already moving, you’re already qualified.’
He says this summer they have Miles in the Wild™ – walking, running, biking, and hiking – which currently runs through September, and Balls Out™ which is our summer golf challenge. They are encouraging athletes in their preferred sport to rally networks of family, friends, coworkers, and crews to sponsor their effort.
Terrence says ‘Childhood hunger is unacceptable in a country this abundant — and it’s an area where we can have a real and meaningful impact. What’s been missing is a model that scales — that turns individual effort into measurable, repeatable impact. RipLine is built to do exactly that. Every Leader brings a network. Every dollar reaches a child. The math works. The Foundation has committed to providing one million meals in 2026 alone — its first year of fundraising — with a 2030 target of four million meals and one million children nourished.’
To sign up go to riplinefoundation.org
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