Courtesy of Utah State Athletics

LAS VEGAS — Junior wing Great Osobor made two free throws with 8.4 seconds remaining to culminate a five-point play, and UNLV missed a 15-foot jumper at the buzzer to give No. 20 Utah State an improbable 87-86 Mountain West win here at the Thomas & Mack Center Saturday afternoon.

Graduate guard Darius Brown II made a 3-pointer with 8.4 seconds to play and Osobor was fouled with the ball in the air, giving the Aggies a pair of free throws following the basket for its game-winning five-point play.

Osobor, who finished with 24 points and 14 rebounds for his eighth double-double of the season, gave Utah State its only lead of the game following his two late free throws as the Aggies trailed by four points in the final seconds.

Osobor, who had just four points and two rebounds in the first half, erupted for 20 points and 12 rebounds in the final 20 minutes as the Aggies improved to 3-0 on the season when trailing at the half.

With the win, Utah State (16-1, 4-0 MW) extends the nation’s longest active winning streak to 15 in a row, which is also the sixth-longest winning streak in school history. USU also improved to 6-0 on the season in games decided by five or fewer points, including 2-0 in games decided by one point.

Utah State, who is 4-0 in Mountain West play for just the second time in its 11 years in the conference, is also the first team in the nation to 16 wins. USU’s 16-1 start to the season is its third-best in school history.

Senior guard Ian Martinez also scored 24 points for Utah State as he made a career-high six 3-pointers on eight attempts and led the Aggies with five assists, while Osobor went 12-of-13 at the free-throw line. Brown added 10 points and junior guard Josh Uduje scored nine.

For the game, Utah State shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the field, 47.6 percent (10-of-21) from downtown and 92.0 percent (23-of-25) at the free throw line. It’s 10 made 3-pointers are its second-most this season.

The Rebels were led by fifth-year guard Luis Rodriguez with 23 points, nine rebounds and two steals. UNLV (8-7, 1-2 MW) shot 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the field, 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from deep and 76.7 percent (23-of-30) at the charity stripe.

UNLV held a 47-40 halftime advantage and pushed the margin to 13 early in the second half at 58-45. Trailing 64-54 at the 14:56 mark, Utah State started chipping away at the deficit and used a 7-0 run to get within three points. The Rebels answered with a 5-0 run of its own to push its advantage back to eight at 69-61 with 8:22 to play. USU got within three points again at 71-68 at the 6:44 mark and closed to within one point at 78-77 following a three-point play from Osobor. UNLV, however, scored the next five points to build an 83-77 lead with 1:59 remaining.

Brown then hit his first of his back-to-back 3-pointers, redshirt freshman guard Mason Falslev added a transition layup and Osobor made his two free throws as the Aggies closed the game on a 9-3 run for the improbable win.

UNLV scored the first six points of the game and built and early 11-point advantage at 19-8 just 5:53 into the contest. The Rebels had two other 11-point leads in the first half, including at 30-19 at 10:10 mark. USU then went on a 12-3 run over the next 2:25 to close within two points at 33-31 following a 3-pointer from redshirt sophomore center Isaac Johnson. The Rebels, however, scored the next seven points to regain control of the game at 39-31. USU got to within one following a 3-pointer from Uduje to make the score 39-38 at the 4:58 mark, but the Rebels finished the half on an 8-2 run to take a 47-40 lead into the locker room.

Martinez and Uduje carried the offensive load for Utah State in the first half as Martinez made 4-of-5 3-pointers scoring 12 points, while Uduje was 4-of-8 shooting and had all nine of his points.

Utah State returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 16 at New Mexico in a game that will be nationally televised on Fox Sports 1. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. (MT).

Season tickets for the 2023-24 men’s basketball season are already on sale and can be purchased by visiting www.utahstateaggies.com or by calling the Utah State ticket office at 1-888-USTATE-1.

Utah State men’s basketball news and information is available on Facebook (facebook.com/usumensbasketball), on Twitter (@usubasketball) and on Instagram (@usubasketball). Fans can also get USU men’s basketball highlights on YouTube (youtube.com/utahstateathletics). Aggie fans can follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter (@usuathletics), on Facebook (facebook.com/usuathletics) or on Instagram (@usuathletics).

-USU-

Print Friendly Version