Nevada Picks Up Rare Spectrum Win Over Shooting Challenged Utah State
Feb 6, 2024, 9:08 PM | Updated: Feb 7, 2024, 9:07 am
LOGAN, Utah – An uncharacteristically poor performance at home from Utah State allowed Nevada to steal a 77-63 road win.
No. 22 Utah State (19-4, 7-3) couldn’t find the range all night as the Nevada Wolfpack (18-5, 5-4) pulled away down the stretch, handing USU its first home loss of the season.
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FINAL
NEVADA – 77
UTAH STATE – 63#AggiesAllTheWay— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 7, 2024
Ian Martinez’s 16 points led three Aggie double-digit scorers. Mason Falslev added 14 points, while Great Osobor chipped in 11 points, four rebounds, and four assists.
Nick Davidson led all scorers with 25 points on 10-of-14 from the field.
First Half
Both teams missed three of their first four shot attempts before USU started to find the range. About three minutes in, back-to-back paint buckets from Isaac Johnson and Ian Martinez gave the Aggies a 6-2 lead.
Dunks for Spectrum Magic 💪
⚡️ @Isaac_Johnson33 #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/0n6JNeAwDs
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 7, 2024
The lead grew to 12-6 when Darius Brown II and Mason Falslev hit threes.
DB would like to welcome you to SPLASH VALLEY 💦
⚡️ @dariusbrownii #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/v46s5RnQD8
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 7, 2024
After Osobor finished a three-point play for a 15-8 lead, USU went nearly three minutes without scoring as Nevada fought back to tie the game at 17.
Utah State missed 12 of its first 18 shots (33.3 percent), while the Wolfpack made eight of eighteen (44.4 percent) looks.
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Another Aggie scoring drought allowed Nevada to build a 26-19 lead courtesy of a 9-0 run.
Isaac Johnson cut the lead to three with an old-fashioned three-point play, but it couldn’t stem the Wolfpack run.
AND-1 👏
⚡️ @Isaac_Johnson33 #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/3rBChTk4Ju
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 7, 2024
Utah State trailed 36-27 at the break. USU shot 31 percent. After a late scoring burst, Nevada finished the half, making 55.2 percent of its shots.
Second Half
The deficit grew to 11 in the opening minutes of the second half as the Aggies’ shooting improved, but their interior defense was almost non-existent.
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Four straight makes and a few defensive stops helped USU cut the lead to 47-41 with 14 minutes left.
Minutes later, Martinez used a pump fake to get his defender off balance before driving for a layup that cut the Wolfpack lead to three.
To the rack‼️
⚡️ @IanJumaine #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/BfT15QCW3l
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 7, 2024
Osobor picked up his fourth foul with 10:15 left, sending the Aggies leading scorer to the bench.
Utah State trailed 59-51 at the under-eight-minute media timeout.
With the Aggie offense in need of a boost, Osobor came back in with 7:04 to play despite his four fouls. The junior quickly showed why he was in the game, hitting a shot and then finding Josh Uduje with a no-look pass for a layup to make it 63-55 Nevada with 6:02 left.
The Wolfpack pulled away in the final minutes for a 77-63 victory.
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The Aggies set their sights on a rematch with the Boise State Broncos on Saturday, December 10. USU needed overtime to beat the Broncos 90-84 in Boise earlier this season. Utah State is 37-21 all-time against BSU and 20-4 in the friendly confines of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. USU has won three straight against the Broncos.
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