LOGAN, Utah – Utah State men's basketball (9-0, 1-0 MW) matched its best-ever start to a season, improving to 9-0 with a dominant 92-62 win over Utah Tech Saturday evening inside of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. With the win, the Aggies join the 1917-18, 1938-39 and 2022-23 squads as the only to ever open a year with nine-straight victories.
Along with the major team milestone, USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun became the first coach in program history to ever begin his tenure in Logan with nine-straight wins.
Five different Aggies scored in double-figures in a wire-to-wire win in which Utah State never trailed. Graduate guard
Dexter Akanno led the way in the scoring column, tallying 16 points in just 19 minutes of action on an efficient 5-for-7 shooting night from the field. Senior guard
Ian Martinez followed with 13 points, while senior forward
Aubin Gateretse and graduate guard
Drake Allen each finished with 12 and sophomore forward
Karson Templin went for 10.
The Aggies got off to a strong start and never looked back, leading from wire-to-wire in this one. A 12-0 Utah State scoring run placed separation between the sides early in the first half. Utah Tech eventually countered with a run of their own, scoring eight-straight points to pull back within single-figures, but USU remained firmly in control.
Despite nine first-half turnovers, the Aggies took a 42-28 lead into the break. Utah State dominated the offensive glass, pulling down 12 offensive boards and scoring 12 second half points in the first 20 minutes of action.
The second half was more of the same, as USU continued to control the paint and clean up on the glass. In total, USU pulled down 47 rebounds to Utah Tech's 29, while outscoring the Trailblazers in the paint 40-38. The Aggies opened up a 20-point lead at the 16:54 mark of the half and led by 20-plus the rest of the way.
Sophomore guard
Mason Falslev led the squad's rebounding efforts with nine boards, while also totaling nine points, two assists, two steals and a block. Allen led the team's facilitation efforts with seven assists to go along with his 12 points, four boards, two steals and a block.
The Aggies cashed in from the charity stripe, knocking down 20 free throws in 26 attempts.
In total, Utah State shot 49.2 percent (32-of-65) from the floor, 27.6 percent (8-of-29) from behind the 3-point arc and 76.9 percent (20-of-26) at the free throw line. Utah Tech finished the night shooting 41.0 percent (25-of-61) from the field, 25.8 percent (8-of-31) from 3-point range and 36.4 percent (4-of-11) from the free throw line.
UP NEXT
Utah State now has a week off before hosting South Florida next Saturday, Dec, 14, at 2 p.m., inside of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
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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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