20250129_Men’sBasketballVsUNLV-16

Rebel Revenge: Aggies outlast UNLV at home to move to 19-2

Utah State Men’s Basketball moved back into a tie for first place in the Mountain West with a 76-71 win over conference foe UNLV. The Aggies were out for blood on Wednesday after their lone conference loss of the year came at the hand of the Runnin’ Rebels two weeks ago.

USU ended the game with five double-digit scorers for the seventh time this season, and the Aggies are now 7-0 in said games. Despite some offensive struggles, Utah State was able to do just enough to get the much-needed home victory.

“I thought UNLV was really good again. Two crazy games against them run right down to the wire again. We made just a few more plays than them,” said head coach Jerrod Calhoun after the win. “I thought our point guards, Deyton [Albury] and Drake [Allen] really stepped up. I mean, we just didn’t have it tonight. We didn’t play great basketball, but to get out of here with the win was really, really important.”

The Aggies got off to a rocky start, with two turnovers and a missed three on their first three possessions. It only led to two points for the Runnin’ Rebels, and Ian Martinez knocked down a triple to give the Aggies their first points of the game and a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

Utah State immediately went into a full-court press after the Martinez-made three. The tight press and even tighter half-court defense paid dividends for the Aggies as they held UNLV to a scoring drought of over five minutes after the initial score off the turnover.

During the Rebel scoring drought, the Aggies struggled scoring as well and led just 7-4 when UNLV got back on the board at 14:08 left in the half.

It was at this point the Aggies started figuring things out on the offensive end in the form of a three-point barrage. Jordy Barnes connected on a three before Allen knocked down a pair of triples on back-to-back possessions, leading to a UNLV timeout.

Out of the timeout, Dexter Akanno kept the momentum up by hitting two more threes, also on back-to-back possessions. An Albury free throw extended the run to 13 straight points for the Aggies and a 16-point lead, their largest of the half at 23-7.

“[Allen and Akanno] have been the guys that have brought the most energy … all we’re asking for right now is bring energy, whether it’s practice whether it’s into the games,” Calhoun said. “Those guys are game changers for us.”

The two teams traded baskets back and forth through the rest of the first half, with UNLV narrowing the lead back to single digits before the half. After the initial three-point raid, Utah State struggled to score the rest of the half, especially from deep.

The Aggies hit six of their first 10 three-point attempts before missing each of their next seven shots from behind the arc in the half. A strong first half defensively propped up the Aggies and gave them a nine-point lead into the break, 33-24.

After the initial hot stretch from beyond the arc, Utah State finished the game just 3-15 from three. Luckily for the Aggies, the Rebels also hit only four threes on 20 attempts, including just 1-8 in the second half.

“32 threes in two games is it’s pretty hard to do. So, we shot 36% from three. I mean, you know, I think we, the last five games, are shooting 47% from three. I mean, we’re not going to do that all year,”  Calhoun said. “So, came back a little bit back down to reality.”

After digging themselves into a large first-half deficit, UNLV came out of the locker room firing. An initial USU bucket got the half started before the Runnin’ Rebels went on a 7-0 run to trim the lead down to four.

Allen answered by scoring eight straight for the Aggies, coming from an and-one, a made three and a one-handed slam to put Utah State back up nine.

The Aggies seemed to be getting their bearings again after the spark from Allen, extending their lead to 11 with under nine minutes to play. Just when it felt as if USU may pull away, UNLV came roaring back behind an impressive performance from Dedan Thomas Jr., who led the Rebels on a 12-1 run to tie the game at 56.

Thomas was the difference maker all night for UNLV, constantly answering the call when they needed a basket to make the game close. He finished with a game-high 22 points on the night.

“He’s a good player. I mean, he’s really good … he’s a top three-point guard in our league,” Calhoun said. “I knew he’d come in here hunting. I knew he’d be hungry, and he played great.”

With the game tied at 56, it felt as if Utah State was on the brink of blowing a 16-point first-half lead into an eyesore of a loss to the Rebels. The Aggies responded in a big way to push on to victory, this time on the defensive end.

After the game was tied at 56, Utah State did not give up a field goal for nearly five minutes, allowing just five points during that span from free throws. In the same stretch, the Aggies scored 14 points to build another lead late into the game.

Plenty of missed free throws made the game closer, but Utah State eventually left victorious despite the Rebels’ best efforts. UNLV made several pushes throughout the game to make it close, but each time, the Aggies were able to respond.

“Basketball is a game of runs, you know, we’re going to have our runs they’re going to have their runs,” Albury said. “It’s just staying composed and being with the game plan that coach prepared for us, offensively and defensively.”

With Wednesday’s win, Utah State is now tied with New Mexico atop the Mountain West Conference standings, each with a 9-1 conference record. To add to the drama, the Aggies host the Lobos this Saturday night in the Spectrum with the league’s top spot up for grabs.




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