Aggies survive late surge from Colorado State, hang on to 93-85 victory
Utah State Men’s Basketball outlasted the Colorado State Rams on Tuesday night, hanging on for the 93-85 victory. The Aggies built a sizeable lead in both halves before the Ram’s late-game push closed the game to single digits in the final minutes.
With Tuesday’s win, Utah State moves to 12-2 in conference play, the program’s best start in its 12 years in the league.
“There’re points in a season where you’ve got to step up. Players have got to step up — you’ve got to make plays. And we were able to do that from the jump. And I think that carried us … even to the bitter end,” said Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun. “We didn’t finish this thing like we wanted, but I think the momentum of that gave us the belief, and we just made a few more plays.”
The Aggies found the hot start that frequently evades them, connecting on each of their first five shots. Ian Martinez started the game for Utah State by hitting a three before the Aggies jumped straight into their full-court press that led to a steal and a bucket.
The Rams got the ball across half-court on their second possession, but that also ended in a turnover and a three on the other end for USU. Finding themselves down 8-0, Colorado State finally got on the board, but the Aggies responded with an and-one from Aubin Gateretse to go up 11-2 just three minutes into the game.
“There’s a sense of urgency from the start. We’ve got guys really excited — guys talking — and so, yeah, we’re just excited and going and going crazy,” Gateretse said after the game. He finished with 16 points and six rebounds, one of five Aggies scoring in double digits on the night.
Going into the first media timeout, the Aggies had hit each of their first four threes and held a 17-7 lead. Coming out of the timeout, Utah State kept the pressure on with two more triples on back-to-back possessions from Mason Falslev, extending the Aggie run to nine straight points and forcing a Colorado State timeout.
Four more from Karson Templin extended the Aggie run to 13-0, putting them up 27-7 and leading to “up by 20” chants raining down from the HURD with 13 minutes left in the first half.
After a stretch where the Aggies struggled shooting from deep, the last two games have been back to what they are accustomed to from deep. Utah State hit each of their first seven three-point attempts in the first half to propel them out to the big early lead and the hot start they were looking for.
“We’re a streaky team. It’s crazy. We’re 22 and three, and, you know, we’ve been pretty streaky, really all year,” Calhoun said. “Whether it’s free throw shooting, defense, three-point shooting — got to give our guys a ton of credit for finding a way.”
The Rams responded to the early deficit and were able to close the gap late in the half, going on a 12-2 run to cut the lead to 13 before a USU timeout with 3:24 remaining.
The Aggies adjusted out of their timeout and hit each of their next three shots to extend their lead once more. After leading by as many as 23 in the early goings, Utah State led Colorado State 45-30 at the half.
Falslev led the charge for the Aggies, scoring 16 points on 6-8 shooting in the first half, including going 4-5 from beyond the arc.
Falslev picked up the second half right where he left off out of the break, scoring four straight points for USU off three straight missed shots from the Rams. He ended the night with a team-high 22 points.
“I’m really happy for Mason [Falslev] — just to see him smile again — see the ball go through. He had a phenomenal game,” Calhoun said. “I thought he was really good in a lot of areas — not just scoring but just impacting the game. His voice was really good in the huddles. So, we had some guys that really, you know, kind of broke out here a little bit, which is good.”
Colorado State hit their first shot of the half, and Martinez answered with a three for the Aggies after playing just three minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.
The Rams eventually got going from deep in the second half after the initial lull, hitting four straight threes after missing the first two. Utah State combatted their outside shooting by getting the ball inside, scoring nine straight field goals in the paint including a stretch of three straight possessions ending in a Gateretse dunk.
The Aggies’ strong inside play extended their lead back to 22, taking a 67-45 lead into the under-12 media timeout.
“Just making reads — coach got into plays, and then guys making the right reads — being aggressive — going to the rim, and if the layup is there or the easy dunk, we’re going to take the best shot we can get,” Gateretse said on their inside focus. “Guys were aggressive, and the lane opened up for us, so we took it.”
Conversely, Colorado State kept launching from deep, hitting 10 of 21 in the second half to keep themselves in the game.
With 2:21 left in the game, the Aggies found themselves on an 8-2 run and up by 18 points, 87-69. The Rams then implemented the late-game press and foul strategy, not allowing USU to attempt a field goal in the final two minutes.
The Aggies struggled again from the charity stripe, missing 11 of their 23 free throws in the second half, opening the door for the Rams to make it close at the end. Colorado State would cut the lead to seven with 42 seconds left after a flagrant foul on Dexter Akanno.
Utah State was able to fend off the late push and leave the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum with a 93-85 win over the Rams to keep pace at a game behind New Mexico before their rematch on Sunday.
“I’m going to take a really nice approach … we’re 22 and three. Let that sink in. 22 and three with nine new players. So, I’m going to be very positive tonight,” Calhoun said. “We’ve talked about it, but it’s been a repeat pattern. So hopefully, just build a big bunch of leads here the last six games, and we’ll be in great shape.”
Utah State will have a few days off before traveling to Albuquerque, New Mexico to take on the Lobos with the conference’s top spot on the line once again.