Utah State Finishes Non-Conference Schedule With Blowout Win
Dec 22, 2023, 9:20 PM | Updated: Dec 23, 2023, 3:01 pm
LOGAN, Utah – Utah State took advantage of an over-zealous Buccaneer team, pulling away at the free throw line to pick up its 11th straight win.
USU made 24-0f-36 free throws, both season-highs, in the 80-65 win over East Tennessee State. The two programs combined to commit 51 fouls.
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1️⃣1️⃣-𝐈𝐍-𝐀-𝐑𝐎𝐖𝐖𝐖𝐖𝐖𝐖𝐖𝐖𝐖𝐖𝐖!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/TBWAjSlXNn
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 23, 2023
Darius Brown II led four Aggies in double-figures with 19 points, while dishing out eight assists and not committing a turnover. Great Osobor notched a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards while Mason Falslev finished one point shy of his own double-double. Ian Martinez added 13 points in the win.
Jaden Seymour and Quimari Peterson combined for 50 of the Buccaneer’s 65 points.
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First Half
Jaden Seymour started hot for ETSU, hitting his first four shots to give the Buccaneers an 11-10 lead with 12:33 left in the half.
Utah State missed eight of nine shots in the opening minutes but hit four free throws to keep it close. The Aggies didn’t get their first assist for more than ten minutes to open the game.
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Isaac Johnson showed some fight when he battled for a second and third chance basket to bring USU within one.
"I got this!" @Isaac_Johnson33 probably#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/k7os4l3szX
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 23, 2023
Johnson’s putback keyed an 11-0 Aggie run. ETSU missed 10 straight shots during the run. Utah State held a 23-20 lead with 3:57 left in the half.
Leading assist man Darius Brown II took over with his scoring down the stretch. The graduate senior point guard scored nine straight, lifting his team to a 32-27 halftime lead.
DOWNTOWN DARIUS BROWN!
👌 @dariusbrownii pic.twitter.com/T1K74DFrij
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 23, 2023
Brown II and Seymour led all scorers with 13 points apiece. Both schools shot under 40 percent from the field with USU knocking down 11-of-28 shots (39.3 percent) and the Bucs hitting 10-of-30 (33.3 percent).
Second Half
Mason Falslev’s first three of the night stopped an 8-4 ETSU run to open the half.
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An undersized Buccaneer team put Utah State into the bonus with 15:30 to play. USU made 6-of-8 FTs in the first 4:30 of the second half after making 8-11 in the opening 20 minutes.
AND 1️⃣‼️
⚡️ @IanJumaine pic.twitter.com/99MTHRPZrp
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 23, 2023
Out of a timeout, Brown II found Kalifa Sakho in the paint for an easy dunk as USU took its largest lead 60-49.
In the middle of a free throw fest on both ends, Ian Martinez and Great Osobor shook loose for back-to-back dunks as the Aggie advantage ballooned to 16.
.@dariusbrownii ✈️ @IanJumaine
AND THENNNNNN@dariusbrownii ✈️ @GreatOsobor
🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/xoA7zABDch
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 23, 2023
The Aggies held on for an 80-65 victory to finish its 2023 non-conference schedule.
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Utah State opens Mountain West play against Air Force (7-5) on Tuesday, January 2. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m. (MT).
USU is 25-7 all-time against the Falcons and 9-7 in Colorado Springs. The Aggies have won the last four games in the series after sweeping AFA in two games last season.
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