GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands — Utah State men's basketball (5-1, 0-0 MW) hoisted the Cayman Islands Classic trophy after cruising to victory past Stephen F. Austin (4-2, 0-0 WAC) 79-49 in the tournament's championship game on Tuesday night inside John Gray Gym.
The Aggies were led by redshirt freshman guard
Mason Falslev who tallied 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists. It was a balanced attack offensively for USU with eight Aggies scoring including junior wing
Great Osobor (14 points), senior guard
Ian Martinez (13 points), graduate guard
Darius Brown II (11 points) and Falslev putting up double-digits. Redshirt sophomore center
Isaac Johnson and freshman forward
Karson Templin each added eight points. Brown orchestrated the offensive attack, picking up a double-double on a pass to Martinez for an alley-oop dunk for his 10th assist.
Osobor and Falsev were named to the all-tournament team, with Osobor being named MVP for averaging 18.7 points and 11.3 rebounds during the classic.
Utah State started the game on a 10-2 run with baskets from Johnson, Falslev, Osobor and Uduje. After the first three minutes, USU never led by less than four points in the contest. In the middle minutes of the first half, USU showcased a dunk contest starting with a two-handed slam from graduate senior wing
Max Agbonkpolo on a fast break and expanded on by Templin and Osobor during an 11-4 run that elevated the Aggies to an 11-point, 26-15, lead. Martinez responded to a 7-0 SFA run with a jumper to end the half up 32-26.
Out of the locker room, Utah State went on a 20-7 run over the first five minutes, led by Brown, Falslev and Osobor, to push the lead to 52-33. SFA was able to respond to drop its deficit to 14, 55-39, midway through the half, but USU left no doubt over the final 10 minutes. The Aggie onslaught culminated with a 19-3 run starting with nine minutes left in the matchup that was capped off by a Falslev layup to balloon the Aggie lead to 34 points, 79-45, during its championship victory. USU ultimately won the contest 79-49.
From the field, USU shot 55.7 percent (34-of-61), including 26.7 percent (4-of-15) from 3-point range, and made 58.3 percent (7-of-12) of its free throws. The Aggies outscored the Lumberjacks in the paint 54-28 while scoring 12 fast break points and not allowing SFA a single break-away bucket.
Junior forward Nana Antwi-Boasiako led Stephen F. Austin with 11 points, one steal and two blocks. The Lumberjacks shot 33.9 percent (19-of-56) from the field, including 17.6 percent (3-of-17) from deep, and 72.7 percent (8-of-11) from the charity stripe.
Utah State returns to action on Tuesday, Nov. 28, when it travels to Missouri to take on Saint Louis at 6 p.m. (MT). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Season tickets for the 2023-24 men's basketball season are already on sale and can be purchased by visiting www.utahstateaggies.com or by calling the Utah State ticket office at 1-888-USTATE-1.
Utah State men's basketball news and information is available on Facebook (facebook.com/usumensbasketball), on Twitter (@usubasketball) and on Instagram (@usubasketball). Fans can also get USU men's basketball highlights on YouTube (youtube.com/utahstateathletics). Aggie fans can follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter (@usuathletics), on Facebook (facebook.com/usuathletics) or on Instagram (@usuathletics).
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