Aggies snap under the rowdy Aztec crowd

LAS VEGAS—The Aggies’ crowd couldn’t out-cheer the Aztecs, resulting in a loss for Utah State on Friday evening. San Diego advanced to the Mountain West tournament championship game with an 86-70 win over Utah State’s men’s basketball team.

USU Head Coach Danny Sprinkle congratulated the Aztecs on their performance in the game. 

“That’s why they are a great program. They fight you for 40 minutes,” Sprinkle said. 

Mason Falslev returned for this game; however, he only played for 20 minutes. Sprinkle said this was due to an injury to Falslev’s shoulder that kept him out of Thursday night’s win.

Great Osobor won the tip and drew his first foul in their first possession. 

Falslev scored his first points in the tournament with an and-one foul. He missed the free throw.

Jaedon LeDee garnered two fouls in the first four minutes of the game; this did not affect his play later in the game. 

Ian Martinez drew a three-point foul on one end. During this game, he held up the Aggies with the second-most points at 16. 

“We didn’t do it at the best of our abilities, but we just got to be better next time,” Martinez said. 

Falslev, Osobor and Darius Brown II got jump shots in. Brown II got five rebounds and five assists throughout this game as well, and San Diego State Head Coach Brian Dutcher recognized his importance. 

“He plays 40 minutes a game usually, and he makes timely, important shots,” Dutcher said. “In the NCAA Tournament, he’ll be sensational because he’ll have a game and a day between to recover. He’s so important to them, and that’s why he is a first-time all-conference guard.”

Dutcher also said that Osobor is a player he kept in mind when coaching this game. 

“Osobor is very good. The last time we played him, he had seven assists, so we changed our whole scheme as to how we played him,” Dutcher said. “You have to change the way you play; he’s so good.”

The Aggies entered the second half up, 39-36. 

Micah Parrish made a three to tie the game up at 41 a piece. 

The Aggies lost their lead at 42 to 45.

Martinez then made a three to tie the game at 48, a move he also completed to tie up the game later at 51.

For about three minutes in the middle of the second half, the Aggies could not score a basket. Sprinkle said that he plans to practice keeping momentum in offensive play. 

“We don’t have a lot of ball and body movement at times, and that’s when our offense gets stagnant,” Sprinkle said. 

Isaac Johnson also shot a three-pointer, while Osobor made several layups. Brown II and Martinez each made two points off their free throws. 

This game was tightly called, with 45 total fouls on both teams. 

“I feel like they’d been happy with the whistle,” Osobor said of the referees for this game. 

The HURD was in the stadium’s upper bowl, making them quieter than the Aztec crowd. Thus, San Diego State controlled the Mack’s atmosphere. 

“At times, I feel like that energy could have helped us a little bit more, especially, you know, being away from home,” Martinez said. 

Osobor agreed with Martinez, saying that the HURD plays a considerable part in being a Utah State player. 

“Yeah, obviously, the HURD is a big part of who we are at Utah State,” Osobor said. “Big appreciation for them even showing up in Vegas. It speaks of their love for the university and their love for us.”

Sprinkle also had some thoughts on the difficulty of playing the Mountain West Conference and the atmosphere of these arenas during games. 

“That’s the great thing about the Mountain West,” Sprinkle said. “It builds you for the tournament because every game we play is like a tournament game.” 

Sprinkle talked about how the team must get more challenging and prepare for the next week’s tournament. 

“We need to get tougher, a lot more physical, I know that. And that showed tonight, and we’re gonna find a way to get that done,” Sprinkle said. 

Sprinkle wanted to ease the loss for his team, and get them ready for the NCAA tournament next week. 

“I told them we have a lot of work to do. Thank God that we still have one more game. A lot of teams don’t have another game,” Sprinkle said. 

Sprinkle talked about how the NCAA tournament is on another level of intensity. 

“You have to play desperate,” Sprinkle said.

The coach and the team understand that a loss can be a source of education. 

“Sometimes losing games helps you win the next game,” Sprinkle said. “I think that’s going to be the case with this because it showed what we need to work on this time of year.”