Utah State forward Great Osobor (1) makes a moves towards the basket past Fresno State guard Isaiah Pope (21) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Conference tournament, Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule) Photos by Ian Maule / Associated Press Photo Gallery sponsored by The Logo Shop, your source for teams, businesses and booster clubs. Visit http://welogostuff.mypromohq.com/ Click on photo to enlarge it, then use your left-right arrow keys to cycle through the gallery Fresno State center Enoch Boakye (13) reacts after being called for a foul against Utah State during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Conference tournament, Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule) Utah State forward Great Osobor (1) drives to the basket past Fresno State guard Xavier DuSell (53) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in the quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Conference tournament, Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule) Utah State guard Javon Jackson (22) shoots against Fresno State during the first half of an NCAA college basketball

LAS VEGAS — A lot of stories are enjoyable enough that you want to tell them twice. Utah State seemed to be under that impression as it had to fend off Fresno State in overtime for a second time this season. Back on Feb. 27, the Aggies won by four points in overtime against Fresno State, needing a last-second long 3-pointer from Darius Brown just to force the extra period, and USU pulled away in that extra time. Thursday’s Mountain West Tournament second round matchup between the Aggies and Bulldogs didn’t have the same last-minute heroics — especially not for USU — but the overtime story remained the same. Utah State outscored Fresno State 17-5 in the free basketball portion of the game to secure the 87-75 win and advance to the semifinal. “We just knew we had to go take it in overtime. We were just prepared,” USU sophomore guard Javon Jackson said. “As soon as we seen it was going to OT, we thought, yeah, we’re finna take this and dominate.” Utah State started both halves — and overtime — with stellar runs, opening up a 16-8 lead in the first half and a 51-42 lead early in

Utah State’s Darius Brown II drives against Fresno State’s Isaac Taveras during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Fresno, Calif., Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian) LOGAN – Utah State’s opener in the Mountain West Tournament will be against a team it’s both dominated and struggled against: Fresno State. In the first meeting, the Aggies rolled by 21 points at home on Jan. 20. In the second, on Feb. 27, USU needed a last-second three from Darius Brown to force overtime where victory was eventually achieved. The latter game is an easy avenue to ensure Utah State doesn’t overlook its opponent, but head coach Danny Sprinkle believes his team isn’t overlooking anyone regardless. “They have our guys’ respect,” Sprinkle said. “Everybody in the league has all year. And you don’t go 14-4 if you’re overlooking people. Our guys have done a great job of that. They know how talented (Fresno State’s) guards are and their bigs. They know how much we have to clean up.” Fresno State will maintain its trend of looking different each time the Aggies face it. In the Feb. 27 road game, the Bulldogs were missing nearly all of its rostered