SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Utah State men's basketball (11-1, 0-0 MW) became just the fourth team in program history to start off its season 11-1 after defeating San Francisco 54-53 inside the Delta Center on Saturday afternoon.
Senior guard Ian Martinez was the lone Aggie to score in double figures, logging 20 points while adding a career-best eight rebounds and career-high-tying five steals. Two more Aggies logged over five boards as junior wing Great Osobor had eight and graduate senior guard Darius Brown II had six.
It was a battle from start to finish as neither team led by more than three points over the first 13 minutes of the opening half. After being tied at 16-apiece, San Francisco (8-4, 0-0 WCC) took the lead and held onto the advantage for the 30-25 edge at the halftime break.
The Dons maintained their lead through the opening few minutes of the second half, but a 10-0 Aggie run, highlighted by a layup from redshirt sophomore center Isaac Johnson and free throws from Martinez, Johnson and junior guard Josh Uduje, gave USU the 41-36 advantage with 12:26 to go. San Francisco chipped away at the margin to reclaim the lead, holding a 50-46 advantage with just under four minutes to play. Utah State responded as Martinez knocked down a pair at the charity stripe and followed with a bucket before a layup from junior forward Kalifa Sakho gave USU the 52-50 edge with just over a minute to go.
Following a timeout, San Francisco knocked down a 3-pointer for the one-point edge. Sakho then tipped in the final bucket of the day for the 54-53 Aggie lead. Brown later came up with the steal as time expired to secure the Utah State victory.
Overall, USU shot 30.2 percent (16-of-53) from the field, 9.5 percent (2-of-21) from deep and 74.1 percent (20-of-27) at the free throw line. USF shot 40.4 percent (21-of-52) from the floor, 25.0 percent (5-of-20) from behind the arc and 60.0 percent (6-of-10) at the charity stripe.
Utah State wraps up non-conference play on Friday, Dec. 22, when USU hosts East Tennessee State at 7 p.m., inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
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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