Aggies survive test in Wyoming – Deseret News

Although most of the Thanksgiving leftovers are long gone, Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun found one more item to be thankful for nearly a week later.

“We’re very, very thankful that we won this game,” Calhoun said after the Aggies’ tough 70-67 win over Wyoming on Wednesday night.

After playing the November portion of their home schedule against weaker opponents, the Aggies found things much more difficult in the first Mountain West game of the season.

Utah State (8-0 overall, 1-0 in the Mountain West) managed to hold off the Cowboys (5-3, 0-1) in the Spectrum and maintain its perfect record, but the meeting of the old rivals made that clear in all games a conference that sent a record six teams to the NCAA Tournament last season will be a challenge.

“It was definitely ugly,” USU graduate guard Ian Martinez said. “We didn’t play our best basketball. We had a better second half, but it probably shouldn’t have been that close.”

The Aggies, now one of nine remaining undefeated teams in the country, survived despite having their second-worst shooting night of the season. Utah State shot just 41% from the field as a team, including a 5-for-17 performance from 3-point range.

“The last three or four games our offense hasn’t been where it needs to be,” Calhoun said. “But this was a very, very hard-fought Mountain West game. I don’t think our new guys really understand the physicality because they haven’t played against that type of physicality night in and night out.

“…This is a monster league with guys with great bodies that will blow your mind,” Calhoun added. “Hopefully the new guys can continue to improve and get better because the guys coming back are absolutely carrying us. This is Ian (Martinez). This is Mason Falslev. This is Karson Templin.”

This trio of returning players from last season’s 28-win team combined for 43 points and 17 of USU’s 35 rebounds. Martinez led the way with 23 points and three 3-pointers, while Falslev finished with 19 points, six rebounds and three steals and Templin added 11 points and six boards.

Martinez, who went 16 for 16 from the free throw line in USU’s last home game on Nov. 18, knocked down all eight of his attempts on Wednesday. Templin, a sophomore forward from Texas, shot 7 for 8 from the line.

Those free throws proved crucial as the Aggies, despite leading by as many as eight points in the second half, were unable to completely shake off the Cowboys down the stretch. Utah State took a 70-64 lead with 35 seconds left when graduate point guard Drake Allen came off a Templin screen and found Falslev under the basket for an easy score.

The Aggies then appeared to secure the win when Allen grabbed a defensive rebound with 14.6 seconds left, but the Westlake High product missed both free throws. Utah State guard Dexter Akanno got the rebound after the second misfire, but he failed to get the putback down, and Wyoming guard Kobe Newton took advantage, flying up the court and quickly sinking a 3-pointer from over than 30 points feet out to pull the Cowboys within three points with 6.9 seconds left.

After a Wyoming timeout, the Aggies managed to get the ball into the hands of Martinez, who charged up the sideline. But USU’s leading scorer lost control at the Aggies’ end of the court and the basketball ended up in the hands of Wyoming’s Jordan Nesbitt. The senior guard timed his start well, firing a shot from just outside the middle of the court, but his game-winning attempt missed the front of the hoop before the game clock expired.

“That was crazy,” Martinez said of the final moments. “I thought that shot (Newton) was just kind of a prayer for her. But the guy shot pretty well and was just hot.

“… And I ended up having that turnover, and luckily that guy didn’t make it.”

Utah State barely led in the first half and after a 3-2 lead early in the game, the hosts were either trailing or tied with the Cowboys until the final minute before halftime. Concerned about Wyoming’s deliberate pace of play, Calhoun had the Aggies press all over the field, which helped make it 8-0 at the end of the first half.

A four-point play from Akanno, a lofted 3-pointer from Martinez in transition and a free throw from Templin helped Utah State take a 32-29 halftime lead after trailing by as many as five points.

“I thought that was a big adjustment, just trying to speed them up, because every time they just ran the ball up,” Calhoun said of the press. “You can’t just let a team come down and hold the ball for 25 seconds if you’re not playing well offensively.”

Despite having an even 50% shooting percentage in both halves, Wyoming lost by an identical 12 to 24 goals from the field. The Cowboys also shot 12 for 26 from distance, led by Newton, who connected on 5 of 10 3-point attempts.

Newton and senior guard Obi Agbim each finished the game with 17 points for Wyoming, while Nesbitt added 13 points and nine rebounds.

“They made more winning plays than we did tonight, so they’re one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country,” said Wyoming head coach Sundance Wicks. “Our boys really show how resilient and courageous they are. We wanted to win ugly; It definitely wasn’t a nice game, not at all. I’m super proud of our boys and very encouraged by their performance. That was probably our best and most complete game in terms of execution.”

Wednesday’s game was a reunion of sorts for Wicks and Calhoun, both first-year Mountain West coaches who split two games in the Horizon League last season when Calhoun was at Youngstown State and Wicks was in his lone season as head coach at Wisconsin- Green graduated from Bay.