Utah State opens Mountain West play with win over Wyoming

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State University men’s basketball (8-0, 1-0 MW) has remained perfect this year, opening Mountain West Conference play with a win Wednesday afternoon at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, defeating Wyoming 70-67.

On a night when he scored the 1,000th point of his college career, Ian Martínez led the way for Utah State. The graduate guard posted a team-best 23 points, five rebounds, one steal and two blocks. Martinez needed 12 points to start the night to reach the 1,000-point mark, which he reached with two free throws at 13:50 of the second half.

This game also marked a career milestone for Aggie head coach Jerrod Calhoun, who celebrated his 250th win as a collegiate head coach. Calhoun, who tied the program record for consecutive coaching wins tonight to begin his tenure at USU, improved to 250-144 in 13 seasons as a head coach.

The Aggies led for just over three minutes of the first half, but played on one possession for most of the first 20 minutes. After shooting just 37.5 percent (12 of 32) from the floor in the first half, USU closed the half with an 8-0 run and went into halftime with a three-point lead, its largest at that point biggest of the game.

Graduate Guard Dexter Akanno played an important role early for the Aggies, coming off the bench and contributing nine points in just 12 minutes of the first half.

In the second half, Utah State’s shooting percentage rose to 45.8 percent (11 of 24) while Martinez caught fire, scoring 17 points after halftime. 36 of the team’s 38 points in the second half came from the Martinez trio, the second-year guard Mason Falslev and sophomore forward Karson Templin as each team scored 38 points in the second half.

USU controlled the second half, leading by four minutes and extending its lead to as many as eight points with 11 minutes left, but the Cowboys remained within striking distance. Trailing by six points with eight seconds left, Wyoming hit a three-pointer to end the possession. With just seconds left, a steal led to a three-quarter-court lob at the buzzer, but the shot missed, sealing the Aggie victory.

Along with Martinez’s big night, Falslev finished the game with 19 points, six rebounds, one assist and three steals, while Templin had 11 points, six rebounds and one assist.

In total, 36 of USU’s 70 points came in the paint, while Wyoming was limited to just 20 points in the paint. The Aggies also outrebounded Wyoming 35-27, including 15 offensive possessions.

Utah State finished the night shooting 41.1 percent (23 of 56) from the field, including 29.4 percent (5 of 17) from 3-point range and 73.1 percent (19 of 26). the free throw line. Wyoming shot 50.0 percent (24 of 48) from the field, 46.2 percent (12 of 26) from behind the arc and 77.8 percent (7 of 9) at the charity stripe.

NEXT

Utah State now stays at home as it hosts in-state rival Utah Tech on Saturday, December 7th at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The meeting point is scheduled for 7 p.m

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CONSEQUENCES

For more information about the Utah State men’s basketball program, follow the Aggies on Facebook at usumensbasketball, on Twitter at @usubasketball and on Instagram at @usubasketball. Fans can also watch USU men’s basketball highlights at youtube.com/utahstateathletics.

-USU-