Utah State Coasts To Road Win Over Saint Louis Billikens
Nov 28, 2023, 8:09 PM | Updated: Nov 29, 2023, 11:11 am
SAINT LOUIS, Missouri – Utah State led most of the way in picking up its first road win of the season, beating Saint Louis 81-76.
Utah State continued its non-conference road slate when they faced the Billikens of Saint Louis on Tuesday, November 28.
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as things ought to be#AggiesAllTheWay | #LightTheABlue pic.twitter.com/6le4BVKmLO
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 29, 2023
Great Osobor notched his fourth double-double of the season, punishing the Billikens inside. Osobor finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds on 11-of-15 shooting. Six of his rebounds came off the offensive glass.
Isaac Johnson finished with 16 points after scoring 14 in the opening half. Mason Falslev added 11 points, five rebounds, and two steals.
Gibson Jimerson led Saint Louis with 28 points in 37 minutes.
First Half
In only its second true road test of the season, Utah State led for much of the first half. USU led by as many as nine points despite shooting just 36 percent from the field.
IAN MARTINEZ 💪
⚡️ @IanJumaine
📺 ESPN+ (https://t.co/RqNZ3D2Pja)#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/V5rHY1NItP— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 29, 2023
Defensively, two blocks from Ian Martinez helped trigger transition opportunities with the Aggies scoring 11 points in transition. USU blocked four shots as a team and forced five turnovers.
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Isaac Johnson’s 14 points led the Aggies as the seven-footer hit a pair of threes. Great Osobor had 12 points and finished the opening half two rebounds shy of another double-double. Darius Brown II assisted on five shots in 18 minutes.
Martinez ✈️ Osobor
⚡️ @IanJumaine & @GreatOsobor
📺 ESPN+ (https://t.co/RqNZ3D2Pja)#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/mA4oIDsOBR— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 29, 2023
The Aggies held a 44-35 lead at the break.
Second Half
The Aggies held a comfortable lead for much of the half but were unable to pull away from Saint Louis.
The Billikens used a 16-3 run in the final four minutes to turn Utah State’s lead into a one-score nail-biter in the final 30 seconds.
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An old-fashioned three-point play from Terrence Hargrove Jr. made it 79-76 Utah State with 18 seconds left. Following two Aggie free throws, Saint Louis raced to the basket as the clock wound down. Osobor’s third blocked shot of the night clinched USU’s five-point win as the Aggies improved to 6-1.
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