Utah State Survives Laramie, Edges Out Wyoming Late
Feb 4, 2025, 9:06 PM | Updated: Feb 5, 2025, 2:34 pm
LARAMIE, Wyoming – Utah State had just enough to overcome the upset-minded Wyoming Cowboys, picking up a 71-67 road win. The outside shot wasn’t falling for USU, but 38 points in the paint and 31 free throws lifted the team to a win.
The Aggies (19-3, 9-2) are in the Cowboy State to face Wyoming (11-11, 4-7) on Tuesday, February 4. Second behind New Mexico in the Mountain West, the Aggies beat Wyoming 70-67 in early December.
🐮 >> 🤠#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/bDuR67RjCm
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 5, 2025
Nineteen points from Ian Martinez led all scorers. Drake Allen added 11 points and four assists. Mason Falslev just missed out on a double-double, finishing with nine points, seven rebounds, and three assists.
Utah State shot 40.7 percent from the field and made just 3-of-19 (15.8 percent) from deep. The Aggies forced 14 Wyoming turnovers, converting those into 18 points.
Jordan Nesbitt led two Cowboys in double figures with 11 points. Dontaie Allen added 10 in the loss.
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First Half
The Aggie defense held Wyoming without a point for more than two minutes but couldn’t open up a lead after a poor offensive start. The Aggies and Cowboys were tied 6-6 after four minutes.
Drake Allen continued his excellent play recently, knocking down a pair of threes to give USU a 15-8 lead.
Drake Allen is feeling it early! Two triples in the first seven minutes pic.twitter.com/LF0DafMcbF
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 5, 2025
Wyoming then went on a 6-0 run, cutting the gap to one with 8:50 left in the half.
Abuin Gateretse ended the run with a put-back and one out of the timeout. Eighteen of the Aggies’ first 22 points came in the paint as USU enjoyed a size advantage.
Both offenses were inconsistent throughout the half, with turnovers a common occurrence. The two teams combined for 15 giveaways, with the Cowboys committing eight.
Crafty work by @IanJumaine pic.twitter.com/Nx2wC1Kfs8
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 5, 2025
Wyoming closed the half on a 7-2 run to take a 35-30 lead at the break.
The Cowboys’ Jordan Nesbitt led all scorers with 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting. Dantaie Allen added eight points.
Work to do at the half.#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/wIFpNsFT3M
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 5, 2025
Ian Martinez led USU with eight points, followed by six from Allen. The Aggies went 2-of-12 from deep after struggling mightily from distance in the loss to New Mexico. USU finished 11-of-28 (39.3 percent) from the floor, while the Cowboys made 58.3 percent (14-of-24) of their looks.
Second Half
The Aggies sprinted out of the locker room with a 15-2 run, shocking the Laramie faithful. Martinez dropped five quick points to spearhead the burst.
Despite starting 0-of-5 from deep, Martinez maintained his scoring edge with aggressive drives to the basket.
That's an 8⃣-0⃣ run for the good guys!@Isaac_Johnson33 pic.twitter.com/evVPYZu5UV
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 5, 2025
Wyoming responded with a 7-0 run, cutting the deficit to one.
Utah State’s defense held Nesbitt and Allen scoreless in the opening ten minutes of the half after the duo combined for 19 in the first.
The Aggies took their largest lead, 54-46, into the under eight-minute timeout. USU outscored the Cowboys 24-11 in the first 11:04 of the half.
And 1⃣ on the break!@mason_falslev ➡️ @IanJumaine pic.twitter.com/X26k4rzC0W
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 5, 2025
Another Aggie run came on the backs of their defense. Wyoming went more than six minutes without a field goal as Utah State rattled off a 10-3 run to take a 64-56 lead with 1:24 left.
A 55 percent free throw shooter, Mason Falslev knocked down two huge free throws in the final minute to maintain a six-point lead.
The Aggies held on for the 71-67 win.
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Utah State heads to California to face the Fresno State Bulldogs on Friday, February 7. Tip-off is at 8 p.m. MT.
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Brian Preece is a KSLSports.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on Twitter and Instagram at @bpreece24.
