Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Utah State defeated Nevada 90-69, showcasing strong defense and Ian Martinez's shooting.
- Martinez scored 23 points, hitting seven 3-pointers, while Utah State forced 18 turnovers.
- Coach Calhoun praised the team's aggressive play, highlighting contributions from Gateretse and others.
LOGAN — Utah State hadn't beat a team by more than 7 points in more than a month. But on Wednesday night, the Aggies put together a full 40 minutes and finally got back to cruising.
The Aggies blew out Nevada 90-69 behind a stifling defense and a flame-throwing performance from Ian Martinez, who made seven 3-pointers on the night.
"We were like a caged animal," Aubin Gateretse said. "We were very hungry. … It's always nice when you blow put people; it's easier on your nerves, for sure."
Utah State (17-2, 7-1 MW) was coming off a close road loss to UNLV that dropped the Aggies out of the Associated Press Top 25. Including the loss to the Rebels, the Aggies played eight consecutive tight games.
But a week off helped the team get healthy and find its defense. Utah State forced 18 turnovers and scored 25 points off the Nevada (11-8, 3-5 MW) mistakes. The Aggies also nabbed 14 steals.
"We were going to press from start to finish," Utah State coach Jerrod Calhoun said. "I thought it really set the tempo and just created havoc."
Martinez led Utah State with 23 points, shooting 8-of-12 from the field and 7-of-9 from behind the 3-point line.
"He was in a zone," Calhoun said.
Gateretse came off the bench and scored 16 points in 27 minutes.
"I took it personal," Gateretse said. "I haven't been performing the way I wanted to the last couple of games, so I got back to work and really wanted to be the aggressor in the game."
Calhoun praised Gateretse's performance Wednesday amid the coaching staff's disappointment in his performance the last few games.
"He came out like he had hair on fire and just went," Calhoun said. "He rolled, he caught every ball. He really ate up a lot of space in the paint. He was a beast."
Dexter Akanno added 15 points and four assists, while Mason Falslev scored only nine points but had 11 assists.
Martinez's hot shooting got even better in the second half when he made four 3-pointers in the span of five minutes. A pull-up heat check 3-pointer put the Aggies up 66-47.
Nevada cut Utah State's lead to 14, but Tucker Anderson's 3-pointer put the home team up 22 with less than eight minutes left in the game.
Utah State trailed by 6 early, but took a 15-13 lead, which ballooned to a 37-28 lead thanks to an 8-0 run. Another 8-0 run by the Aggies put them up 47-34 with 1:22 remaining.
Nevada closed the last two baskets of the half and trailed by single digits at halftime.
Aside from Utah State's defense, the team's offense was efficient, amassing 27 assists and shooting 59% from the field. The Aggies also shot 53% from behind the 3-point line and scored 39 points off the bench.
