LOGAN, Utah – Utah State men's basketball (17-2, 7-1 MW) returned to the win column Wednesday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, using a big night from behind the 3-point arc to earn a dominant 90-69 win over Nevada.
The Aggies connected on 16 shots from behind the arc, tied for the sixth-best 3-point shooting performance in program history. The barrage was led by fifth year guard
Ian Martinez, who went 7-of-9 from deep, and graduate guard
Dexter Akanno, who made five of his seven 3-point shots.
As a team, USU shot 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from 3-point range, 11 of those coming in the second half on 16 attempts.
Nevada scored 11 of the night's first 16 points to get off to a quick six-point lead, but that advantage was the largest of the night for the visitors, who quickly saw the Aggies jump back on top with eight-straight points. After capturing its first lead of the night with 10:47 remaining in the first half, Utah State never looked back.
Both sides shot the ball efficiently in the first 20 minutes, Utah State connecting on 58 percent of its shots and Nevada making 60 percent, but a 12-2 advantage in the turnover column kept the Aggies in front for the majority of the half. USU went into the locker room with a 47-38 lead.
After the break, Utah State continued to build on its lead, sparked by four 3-pointers in the first five-and-a-half minutes from Martinez. The USU advantage remained in double-figures for the entire second half, the Aggies going up by as many as 24 points.
In total, 33 of the team's 43 second half points came from behind the 3-point arc.
Martinez finished the night with a game-high 23 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the field and 7-of-9 from 3-point range, including a perfect 5-of-5 in the second half.
Other double-figure scorers for the Aggies included senior forward
Aubin Gateretse, who went for 16 points to go along with five rebounds and a steal, and graduate guard
Dexter Akanno, who made five 3-pointers to finish with 15 points, two boards, four assists and three steals.
USU had 27 assists on 33 made shots, led by a career-high 11 helpers from sophomore guard
Mason Falslev. Falslev filled out the stat sheet, going for nine points, three rebounds, four steals and a block along with his 11 assists. Graduate guard
Drake Allen also had a strong night with six assists.
The Aggies forced 18 Nevada turnovers with 14 steals, and capitalized to score 25 points off of those turnovers. On the other end, USU committed just eight turnovers which resulted in 11 points.
Utah State finished the game shooting 58.9 percent (33-of-56) from the floor, 53.3 percent (16-of-30) from behind the 3-point arc and 88.9 percent (8-of-9) from the free throw line. Nevada shot 53.1 percent (26-of-49) from the field, including 42.9 percent (9-of-21) from 3-point range and 88.9 percent (8-of-9) at the charity stripe.