Utah State Holds Off Anteaters Late Run For Home Win

LOGAN, Utah – A late scoring drought kept the Anteaters close but Utah State held on in the final minutes for the 79-69 victory.

Utah State (8-1) hosted UC Irvine in the first of three straight games at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday, December 2.

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⬅️ WINNING TEAM!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/7vwcCCTeai

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 3, 2023

Redshirt freshman Mason Falslev led Utah State with his hustle, finishing with a season-high 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Junior wing Great Osobor rebounded from a subpar first half to finish with 17 points and four rebounds. Ian Martinez added 12 and Josh Uduje scored a dozen off the bench.

Justin Hohn led UCI with 21 points, including 4-of-6 from deep. Dean Keeler contributed 15 points in the loss.

Aggies dominate the 2nd Half and get the 10 point victory over a good Irvine team. Aggies improve to 7-1 on the season. pic.twitter.com/cwiA3MY5p4

— Scott Garrard (@ScottyGZone) December 3, 2023

First Half

A shootout developed in the opening minutes with both defenses offering limited resistance. The Anteaters hit their first five shots while USU made 6-of-9 shots to take a 15-12 lead at the first media timeout.

Downtown Darius Brown🔒

⚡️ @dariusbrownii #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/kTPlJULu5d

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 3, 2023

The Aggies followed a hot start by going scoreless for nearly four minutes before Max Agbonkpolo knocked down a jumper.

The Anteaters took advantage of Aggie misses as they made five of seven shots to take a 23-21 lead with 11:01 left in the half.

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Great Osobor’s first basket brought USU within a point with 6:22 in the half. Utah State’s leading scorer missed his first three shots as UCI sent multiple defenders his way every time he touched the ball.

COAST 2 COAST

⚡️ @IanJumaine #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/3VUzyCF1a3

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 3, 2023

Agbonkpolo and Ian Martinez helped keep the Aggies close, combining for 15 points and two threes off the bench in the half.

USU took a 42-41 lead into the break.

Second Half

Both teams seemingly took some extra time in the locker room as neither offense could muster a point for the opening 1:41 of the second half. Osobor broke the drought when he knocked down one of two free throws.

USU went on a 6-0 run, keyed by three straight buckets from Osobor. Taking advantage of a frenzied pace, the junior from England scored seven points in the first four minutes of the second half.

it wasn’t a good dunk, it was a GREAT dunk

⚡️ @GreatOsobor #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/fGSdHPPxgy

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 3, 2023

The Anteaters went without a field goal for 3:37, allowing Utah State to build a 51-46 lead.

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Darius Brown II’s fifth assist led to a highlight reel fast break dunk from Josh Uduje.

Airplane mode stays 🔛

⚡️ @JUduje #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/nCBUEytQwW

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 3, 2023

Utah State’s lead ballooned to 12 when a 10-0 run forced the Anteaters to call a timeout with USU leading 63-51 and 10:42 left to play.

The run continued out of the timeout as the Aggies kept their foot on the pedal. By the under-eight minute timeout, USU had turned a modest 53-51 lead into a 70-54 upper hand.

great ATE

⚡️ @GreatOsobor #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/bYCNgszxhu

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 3, 2023

Utah State suddenly went cold, going without a field goal for more than five minutes as UCI went on a 13-4 run.

Martinez went one one-on-one with the shot clock winding down, hitting a driving layup to stop the Aggies scoring drought. The bucket gave USU a 76-67 lead with 1:36 left.

Utah State improved to 8-1 with a 79-69 win.

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USU welcomes the San Diego Toreros (6-2) into the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Wednesday, December 6. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. (MT). Led by former UCLA head coach Steve Lavin, the Toreros lost 91-89 to Utah State in an overtime thriller.

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