Box Score LOGAN, Utah – Utah State men's basketball (8-0, 1-0 MW) remained perfect on the year and opened Mountain West Conference play with a win Wednesday evening at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, defeating Wyoming 70-67.
On a night on which he scored the 1,000th point of his collegiate career,
Ian Martinez led the way for Utah State. The graduate guard went for a team-best 23 points, five rebounds, a steal and a pair of blocks. Martinez entered the night needing 12 points to hit the 1,000 point milestone, which he reached with a pair of free throws at the 13:50 mark of the second half.
This game also marked a career milestone for Aggie head coach
Jerrod Calhoun, who picked up his 250th win as a college head coach. Calhoun, who matched the program record for consecutive coaching wins to open their tenure at USU tonight, improved to 250-144 in 13 seasons as a head coach.
The Aggies led for just over three minutes of the first half, but played from within a possession for the majority of the first 20 minutes. After shooting just 37.5 percent (12-of-32) from the floor in the first half, USU closed out the half with an 8-0 run to take a three-point advantage into the break, its largest of the game to that point.
Graduate guard
Dexter Akanno played a major role early for the Aggies, coming off the bench to contribute nine points in just 12 first half minutes.
In the second half, Utah State's shooting jumped to 45.8 percent (11-of-24), while Martinez caught fire, going for 17 points after the break. 36 of the team's 38 second-half points came from the trio of Martinez, sophomore guard
Mason Falslev and sophomore forward
Karson Templin as each side scored 38 points in the second half.
USU controlled the second half, leading for all but four minutes and seeing its lead stretch to as many as eight points with 11 minutes remaining, but the Cowboys remained within punching distance. Trailing by six with eight seconds remaining, Wyoming hit a 3-pointer to pull within a possession. With just seconds remaining, a steal led to a heave from three-quarters-court at the buzzer, but the shot rimmed out to seal the Aggie victory.
Along with the big night from Martinez, Falslev finished with 19 points, six rebounds, an assist and three steals, while Templin went for 11 points, six rebounds and an assist.
In total, 36 of USU's 70 points came in the paint, while Wyoming was limited to just 20 paint points. The Aggies also outrebounded Wyoming 35-27, including 15 offensive boards.
Utah State finished the night shooting 41.1 percent (23-of-56) from the field, including 29.4 percent (5-of-17) from 3-point range and 73.1 percent (19-of-26) at the free throw line. Wyoming shot 50.0 percent (24-of-48) from the field, 46.2 percent (12-of-26) from behind the arc and 77.8 percent (7-of-9) at the charity stripe.
UP NEXT
Utah State now remains at home as it hosts in-state foe Utah Tech on Saturday, Dec. 7, at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
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FOLLOW
For more information on Utah State's men's basketball program, follow the Aggies on Facebook at usumensbasketball, on Twitter at @usubasketball and on Instagram at @usubasketball. Fans can also watch USU men's basketball highlights by visiting youtube.com/utahstateathletics.
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