Las Vegas, NV – The 20th ranked Utah State Aggies took on the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels on Saturday afternoon in a Mountain West matchup. The Rebels would open the game on a 10-2 run and would lead by as many as 11 in the first half. Utah State senior guard Ian Martinez would help cut the deficit in a hurry, hitting four of his first five attempts from beyond the arc, but UNLV would have the 47-40 lead at half. However, thanks to what ended up being a five-point play, Utah State would escape with an 87-86 victory.
In the offseason Utah State lost 100% of its scoring from last season, but Martinez and England native and junior guard Josh Uduje (nine points on 4-9 shooting, 1-2 from 3) kept the Aggies afloat. The story of the first half was UNLV fifth-year guard Luis Rodriguez who led all scorers at the half with 13 points shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor, including one made three-pointer and 2-of-3 from the charity stripe. Junior forward Rob Whaley Jr. provided a big spark off the bench when Utah State started to cut into his team’s lead, pulling down seven rebounds to go along with his 10 points; including a thunderous dunk that got the crowd back into the game.
The other storyline was the free-throw line. Coming into the game the Aggies only allowed their opponents 12.4 made free throws per game and the Rebels had 13 at half. Utah State committed 10 fouls to UNLV’s six. UNLV was able to run past Utah State with ease, holding a 10-2 advantage in fast-break points and had a slight edge on the boards (18-13), but the two teams were largely even in the other counting statistics.
Martinez picked up right where he left off at the start of the second half, hitting two of his next three-point attempts to help pull the Aggies closer and would finish with a game-high 24 points. Utah State’s junior forward Great Osobor showed why he’s the team leading scorer, getting to the line with frequency (10-11 from the free-throw line), running in transition and pulling down 14 rebounds to go along with his 22 points.
For UNLV, they would have six players finish in double figures. Freshman guard and Las Vegas native Dedan Thomas Jr. was one of those players and the only one to finish with a double-double for the Runnin’ Rebels. Thomas Jr. dished out 11 assists to go along with his 10 points, doing so against Utah’s zone and man defenses, in the pick-and-roll and with and without screens. Thomas Jr. kept UNLV calm and in control any time Utah State went on a run.
Utah State won it at the end, when down by four points, Darius Brown II nailed a three-pointer with eight seconds left. On the same play Osobor was fouled by Kalib Boone. He made both free throws to put the Aggies up by one. Thomas Jr. then missed a jumper on the final shot of the game as Utah State escaped with the win.
Both teams have more conference play on the docket. The Aggies will travel to New Mexico to take on the Lobos in the Pit Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. MT. The Rebels are also back in action on Tuesday, facing off against the Boise State Broncos in ExtraMile Arena at 7 p.m. PST.
This article was written by Mason McFee, a correspondent and scout for NetScouts Basketball. You can follow us on Facebook, or on twitter.
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