Utah State cooks nets in road win over Saint Mary’s | sport

Leaving the undefeated rankings didn’t seem to affect Utah State too much. Wednesday’s loss to UC San Diego dropped the Aggies in rankings like NET and KenPom (and likely dashed hopes of a spot in the AP Poll for a few more weeks), but apparently didn’t have much of an impact on USU’s approach . The same approach that led to the historic 10-0 start.

“Our guys didn’t let the outcome of the game against UC San Diego affect our preparation for two days,” said USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun. “In fact, I thought it motivated us. There was also a lot of talk at Logan about how we didn’t play anyone on our schedule. There were many doubts. I felt it and our team didn’t, which was great.”

Well, that process certainly hasn’t stopped, as it gave the Aggies their 11th and perhaps most impressive win of the season: a 75-68 score at Saint Mary’s.

The Gaels entered the game ranked 51st in the NET rankings, one spot behind another USU opponent, Iowa, but since it was the first true road game, it presented a new challenge. Utah State had played on a neutral site against Won states like Iowa, North Texas and St. Bonaventure, although a truly hostile environment was no test for the Aggies. Additionally, Saint Mary’s had a 21-4 record at home since the start of last season.

Given the Aggies’ performance, they seem to have forgotten that this type of test is supposed to be challenging. They played more physical against one of the more physical teams in the NCAA and outperformed them on their own home court.

“To get past this team, we deserve to win the game,” Calhoun said. “When you come to Saint Mary’s, one of the best rebounding teams in America, and you battle-tested and you out-rebound them, our guys deserve to win the game.”

“They are one of the top performing teams in the country,” Templin said. “So we knew we had to attack and fight back. And I think we’re also one of the strongest physical teams in the country. So two strong teams and we got them tonight.”

In the first eight minutes, Utah State went full throttle. It fought off a couple of small early leads from Saint Mary’s to take a 17-7 lead. However, the usual suspects for Aggie points were missing. It was Aubin Gateretse, Deyton Albury and Karson Templin who all scored those points. Templin in particular surprised the Gaels. From his scouting report, Templin occasionally takes a three-pointer when he’s wide open. But Saint Mary’s found out the hard way that Calhoun gave Templin a full green light to play part five. The sophomore took full advantage, scoring three three-pointers in a two-minute span.

Maybe it’s time to change the scouting report on Templin, who has now made 3-pointers in four straight games and is shooting 58.3 percent from downtown over the same span.

“I know I can shoot, Coach knows I can shoot,” Templin said. “We knew their bigs would be in drop coverage. And if they drop and outplay me, I’m going to shoot and clear the field for my teammates.”

Templin’s 10-point lead catapulted the Aggies into the final period as Saint Mary’s went on a run and 3-point shooting spree of their own. Mikey Lewis and Luke Barrett hit a pair of triples on a layup from Mitchell Saxen, cutting the Aggies’ lead to just two points just two minutes after they led by 10. When the Gaels were still playing, they weren’t completely dead.

The Aggies would play even more dominantly, so the Gaels always struggled to stay within striking distance but were never fully able to make a shot.

A 10-0 run late in the first half was Utah State’s next salvo, with two three-pointers from Dexter Akanno and Tucker Anderson mixed with two dunks from Gateretse, who had 10 first-half points. Saint Mary’s had the final basket of the half, but the Aggies took a 12-point lead at the break. Long story short, USU would maintain a multi-possession lead for the rest of the game.

The fact that Utah State defended Saint Mary’s so well in the second half is pretty amazing when you look at the Gaels’ shooting numbers in the second half. They made seven 3-pointers in that half alone, but never got within six points of Utah State. However, the Aggies only made six 3-pointers in the entire game, let alone in one half. The Gaels had one of their best shooting halves of the year and Utah State was able to hold them off for the most part.

That’s because the Aggies also had one of their best shooting halves of the year. In fact, Utah State made 14 of its 16 field goal attempts in the first 14 minutes of the second half. It made Saint Mary’s’ otherwise very respectable shooting seem like a cold snap, and that alone almost ended any hope of a Gaels rally.

Mason Falslev was responsible for a large portion of the score in the second half. He only had four points before halftime, but finished the game with 18. He personally went 6-7 from the field in the second half. Martinez had seven of his 11 points in the second half, and Jordy Barnes scored all six of his points there as well. In addition to Falslev and Martinez, Gateretse, who finished the game with 10 points, and Templin, who scored 13 points, scored in double figures

Ultimately, there was an attempt by Saint Mary’s to put the game away, buoyed by 3-point shooting and the fact that Utah State was beaten by the law of averages in the final minutes of the game. The Aggies missed six of their last seven shots, which combined with a few turnovers allowed the Gaels to get within six points with 29 seconds left. But a few stops and some free throws secured the victory for the Aggies in the end.

Utah State has more tough road games coming up in the immediate future – especially road games at San Diego State (December 28) and Nevada (December 31). But perhaps there is less talk about the strength of the Aggies’ schedule and whether they beat tough opponents.