LOGAN, Utah – Utah State men's basketball (23-4, 13-3 MW) earned a historic blowout victory Wednesday night against San José State, getting back into the win column with a 105-57 win. This is the largest margin of victory in a league game by the Aggies in the team's 120-year history. It is also tied for the fourth-most lopsided game between two Mountain West teams in league history.
USU controlled this game from the opening tip-off to the final buzzer, never trailing and going up by as many as 51 points. This was the team's fourth 100-point game this season, and third-largest overall margin of victory this year, the other two coming early in the season against Alcorn State and Westminster.
Five different Utah State players scored in double-figures in this offensive explosion, paced by a 22-point performance by fifth year guard
Ian Martinez, who shot 7-of-9 from the field while also bringing down three boards, recording three assists and three steals. Along with Martinez's performance, graduate guard
Dexter Akanno (13), sophomore guard
Mason Falslev (13), sophomore wing
Tucker Anderson (11) and senior guard
Deyton Albury (10) each finished the night with 10-plus points.
It took just over five minutes in this one for USU to establish a double-digit lead, an advantage which ballooned to 23 points by the halftime break. The Aggies had 10 assists with just two turnovers while earning five steals in the first 20 minutes of action, never trailing at any point. The team also found consistency from behind the 3-point arc, connecting on 7 of its 13 first-half 3-pointers. At the half, USU led 47-24.
With a firm lead in hand, the dominance continued for Utah State in the second half. A 52 percent shooting performance in the first half jumped to a 64 percent output in the second, as the Aggies strung together their second-highest scoring period of the season, putting 58 more points on the board.
Between the 1:41 mark of the first half and the 11:15 mark of the second half, Utah State connected on 13 of its 15 shots. The lead expanded quickly for the Aggies, as a 27-point lead with 15 minutes remaining in the contest turned into a 47-point lead with just over nine minutes remaining.
All 12 non-injured, non-redshirting players for USU saw time in this one and got into the scoring column, with 10 of them playing at least 10 minutes.
The Aggies totaled 21 assists with just six turnovers on the night, led by an eight-assist performance from Falslev. Along with his 13 points and eight helpers, Falslev also registered four rebounds and three steals.
USU cleaned up on the glass to the tune of a 41-25 rebound advantage, including 14 offensive boards. Six different Utah State players recorded four or more rebounds, led by a six-board night for Albury.
In the paint, USU posted a 50-20 scoring advantage.
Utah State finished the game shooting 57.6 percent (38-of-66) from the floor, 52.0 percent (13-of-25) from behind the 3-point arc and 76.2 percent (16-of-21) from the free throw line. San José State shot 36.8 percent (21-of-57) from the field, including 28.1 percent (9-of-32) from 3-point range and 60.0 percent (6-of-10) at the charity stripe.
UP NEXT
Utah State will now remain at home for another game this weekend, hosting San Diego State on Saturday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. The game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
SEASON 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.
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