USAFA, Colorado – Utah State men's basketball (18-2, 8-1 MW) improved to 8-1 in league play Saturday afternoon, picking up an 87-58 road win over Air Force at Clune Arena.
The Aggie bench played a major role in the victory, accounting for 39 of the team's 87 points, led by a 12-point effort from junior forward
Isaac Johnson. The graduate guard duo of
Dexter Akanno and
Drake Allen also came up big, scoring nine and eight points, respectively, while Allen also went for a rebound, six assists, four steals and two blocks.
Utah State played efficiently throughout, recording 22 assists on 30 made shots, led by Allen's six and another six from freshman guard Jordy Barned. The team recorded just nine turnovers.
The Aggies got off to a slow shooting start, connecting on just one of their first seven shots in this one, but quickly found their rhythm. USU's only deficit of the afternoon, a 6-4 lead for the hosts, was answered by a streak of 14-straight points by Utah State. The 14-0 run extended into a 22-4 run.
USU's largest lead of the half came with 9:01 on the clock, a 17-point advantage at 29-12, but the Falcons were able to claw back within single-digits before the break. At the half, the Aggies led 42-33. After the 1-of-7 shooting start, Utah State made 56 percent of its shots through the remainder of the first half.
The second half was more of the same, as USU's shooting jumped to 65 percent in the final 20 minutes, going 15-of-23 from the floor, while also making half of their shots from 3-point range and shooting 90 percent at the free throw line.
Air Force narrowed the deficit to as few as seven points, but a 13-0 Aggie run in response made it a 20-point game. USU posted a 14-7 advantage on the glass in the second half.
Utah State forced 16 Falcon turnovers while tallying 10 steals, scoring 26 points off of those turnovers. Along with Allen's four steals, sophomore guard
Mason Falslev recorded three. Falslev also finished with 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists.
Other double-figure scorers included fifth year guard
Ian Martinez, who scored a team-high 16 points, and sophomore wing
Tucker Anderson, who went for 10.
USU led for 38:13, while trailing for just 1:04 in the contest.
Utah State finished the game shooting 53.6 percent (30-of-56) from the floor, 51.6 percent (16-of-31) from behind the 3-point arc and 84.6 percent (11-of-13) from the free throw line. Air Force shot 38.0 percent (19-of-50) from the field, including 25.0 percent (5-of-20) from 3-point range and 65.2 percent (15-of-23) at the charity stripe.
UP NEXT
Utah State will return home for a pair of games next week, beginning with a contest against UNLV on Wednesday, Jan. 29. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, and the game will be broadcast on FS1.
TICKETS
There are a limited number of tickets available for all remaining home games. To purchase visit utahstateaggies.com/tickets.
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.
- USU -