Aggies win 3rd straight road game in 69-64 victory over Nevada

RENO, Nev. — Ian Martinez said he played the worst half of his life; he missed both of his shot attempts and turned the ball over twice.

But with seven minutes remaining in the game, Martinez made a fadeaway midrange jumper; and that turn of the faucet resulted in a raging waterfall.

Martinez scored 17 straight points and helped Utah State (13-1, 3-0 MW) to a 69-64 road victory over the Nevada Wolf Pack (8-6, 0-3 MW).

“It was crazy,” Martinez said. “I don’t think I’ve ever played worse in my life in that first half. My teammates kept talking to me, kept cheering me, telling me to stay in the game and just let it come to me. I told them how much I appreciate them. I couldn’t have played that well without them.”

The Aggies led 50-46 with about eight minutes left in the second half, and that’s when Martinez scored the next 17 points for Utah State, including a 3-pointer that pushed its lead to 5 with less than two minutes remaining and two important free throws with 12 seconds left.

“Once he gets it going like that, you just have to get him in good actions and he’ll make good plays,” Aggies coach Jerrod Calhoun said.

Tucker Anderson’s two free throws with five second left sealed the victory and ended Martinez’s scoring run. He had his second consecutive strong game, scoring 16 points and adding three assists after making the game-winning 3-pointer against San Diego State on Saturday.

Mason Falslev had 14 points, six rebound and five assists in 38 minutes. Calhoun said he asked some of his other plays to match Falslev’s energy because, at times, he was carrying the entire team.

“I couldn’t take him out of the game,” Calhoun said. “If we played another 20, he would’ve played another 20. … I’d rather have a tired Mason, because I know what I’m going to get.”

Utah State trailed 33-28 at halftime after committing 10 turnovers and ending the first half scoring just 6 points in 10 minutes and making one of its last 11 shots. But the Aggies took care of the ball much better in the second half and reaped the benefits.

A 3-point play from Deyton Albury gave the Aggies a 40-37 lead with 14:20 left in the second half and they didn’t trail after that.

The win marks the third consecutive true road win for the Aggies — the first two coming against Saint Mary’s and San Diego State. Tuesday also marked yet another Quad 1 win for the Aggies, who entered the game at No. 26 in the NET ranking.

Calhoun said Utah State hasn’t gotten much respect throughout the season, though. And while he said he doesn’t care about national rankings or the outside narrative, he cares quite a bit about how the team’s resume is evaluated.

“We’ve played very good people,” Calhoun said. “People undervalued St. Bonaventure, North Texas. Iowa is going to win games. Saint Mary’s, certainly San Diego State (will win games also). So we’ve got great wins. … I think our body of work is as good as anybody in the country.”

Martinez said the team only cares about wins.

“A lot of people are just counting us out,” Martinez said. “We just have to block out the outside noise. And as long as we just keep winning as many games as many games as possible, that’s what’s going to put us in good position if we want to make it to March Madness.”