AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. — Behind a career night from junior wing Great Osobor, Utah State opened Mountain West play with an 88-60 win against Air Force inside Clune Arena on Tuesday afternoon. USU has won 12 games in a row, which is tied for its eighth longest win streak in school history.
Osobor scored a career-high 32 points, tied his career-high with four assists, and added nine rebounds to lead the Aggies. Redshirt freshman guard Mason Falslev added 18 points and senior guard Ian Martinez scored 17.
After trading baskets to start the game, Utah State (13-1, 1-0 MW) went on a 10-0 run to lead 12-2 five minutes into the contest. The Aggies took advantage of a Clune Arena two-for-one special midway through the half trading two buckets for one on the defensive end for three minutes, with dunks from Osobor and Martinez boosting the USU lead to 31-15.
With five minutes remaining in the half, Osobor went on a five-point surge to give Utah State a 21-point lead, 40-19. The Falcons (7-6, 0-1 MW) chipped the Aggie lead down to 42-29 at halftime with an 8-0 run, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer by junior guard Ethan Taylor.
Osobor opened the second half with a dunk, two free throws and a layup to keep the Aggies up 48-33, three minutes after the break. Following a Falslev layup, Air Force went on a 7-0 run to cut the USU lead to 10 at 52-42. Utah State responded with a 13-0 run behind fastbreak slams from Osobor and Martinez to build a 23-point lead, 65-42.
Down the stretch, the Aggies pulled away further behind a 3-pointer from Falslev, free throws from junior forward Kalifa Sakho and sophomore guard Landon Brenchley, and layups from graduate guard Darius Brown II and Martinez.
Utah State shot 63.3 percent (31-of-49) from the field, its second-best shooting performance of the season, 33.3 percent (4-of-12) from behind the arc and 62.9 percent (22-of-35) at the free-throw line.
Sophomore forward Rytis Petraitis led Air Force with 15 points, four rebounds and two assists. The Falcons shot 43.8 percent (21-of-48) from the field, 14.3 percent (2-of-14) from downtown and 66.7 percent (16-of-24) at the charity stripe.
Utah State returns home to host No. 13 Colorado State on Saturday, Jan. 6, at 7 p.m. for the Aggies' conference home opener.
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.
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