Utah State Opens Cayman Islands Classic With Balanced Effort In Win

LOGAN, Utah – Great Osobor’s 18-point, 16-rebound double-double led Utah State to an opening round, 83-60 win over Marshall.

Utah State opened the Cayman Islands Classic against the Marshall Thundering Herd on Sunday, November 19.

RELATED: Aggies Fight Through First-Half Doldrums For Win Over Southern Utah

#CaymanIslandsClassic FINAL@USUBasketball 83, @Herd_MBB 60
➡️Forward #GreatOsobor with 18 pts, career-high 16 rebounds for Utah State
➡️#KevonVoyles has team-high 17 pts., for Marshall#Lumberjacks #RaisetheAxe #RaiseTheStandard ➡️Aggies advance to Monday semifinal @ 7:30pmET

— Cayman Islands Classic (@CaymanClassic) November 20, 2023

Five Aggies finished in double-figure scoring, led by Osobor’s 18. Ian Martinez had 15 points while Darius Brown II, Mason Falsev, and Josh Uduje each added 11. Brown II also had a team-high eight assists.

USU’s defense limited Marshall to 35 percent shooting and a 4-of-18 performance from three. The Aggies (54.5 percent) made more than half of their shots for the third time in four games this season.

Bovine Blog: Great Osobor, Darius Brown II Raise Utah State’s Ceiling

First Half

The Aggies put on a first-half clinic, forcing seven turnovers and holding the Herd below 30 percent shooting from the field in a dominating opening 20 minutes.

Junior Great Osobor led the charge with a first half double-double, scoring ten points and grabbing ten rebounds in 18 minutes of action. Senior guard Ian Martinez made 3-of-4 shots for nine points. Junior guard Josh Uduje made one of two first-half threes for the Aggies, finishing with six points in the half.

AND-1 😤

⚡️ @JUduje
📺 @FloHoops | https://t.co/8OhcH2eTwW#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/afJVkv9MEi

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 19, 2023

USU increased its advantage to 13 when Marshall was held scoreless over the final 3:21 of the half.

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Marshall made 9-of-32 shots (28.1 percent) while the Aggies hit 51.9 percent (14-0f-27) of their shots. Utah State had 14 points off of the bench and never trailed in the half. All eight Aggies that appeared in the first half scored a point.

Aggies lead by 13 at the break!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/XKvxpHPBPK

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 19, 2023

Second Half

Marshall cut the Aggie lead to four with 14:40 left in the half but a three from Max Agbonkpolo and Martinez steal that turned into a transition dunk stretched the lead back to nine a minute later.

RELATED: USU Men’s Basketball Releases 2023-24 Schedule

flight 23 cleared for takeoff 🫡

⚡️ @maxpolo15
📺 @FloHoops | https://t.co/8OhcH2frmu#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/SUTeTEAhQt

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 19, 2023

Osobor used two consecutive old-fashioned three-point plays down the stretch to put an end to the Thundering Herds hopes of a comeback.

The Aggies closed the game on a 17-4 run.

Martinez ✈️ Sakho

⚡️ @IanJumaine & @Klz224
📺 @FloHoops | https://t.co/8OhcH2frmu#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/Gl9Af347i5

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 19, 2023

USU improved to 3-1 with the 23-point victory.

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USU faces the Akron University Zips as they continue the Cayman Islands Classic on Monday, November 20. Tipoff is at 5:30 p.m. (MT).

Listen to USU basketball games on KSL Sports Zone with Scott Garrard on the call.

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