The “Spectrum Magic” continued in Utah State University’s matchup against the University of Nevada, Reno as the Aggies pulled away with a commanding 90-69 victory.
After an away loss to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the Aggies dropped their hold on the top spot in the Mountain West Conference, setting the stage for a critical bounce-back performance against Nevada.
“After that loss, we had to get back to our identity,” said forward Aubin Gateretse.
Gateretse’s performance was what head coach Jerrod Calhoun called “tremendous” and “crucial” as the Aggies played against a team with a traditionally big presence in the paint. Forcing the Wolf Pack to respect the inside with his 16 points under the basket, Gateretse opened up offensive opportunities, allowing the Aggies to knock down 16 three-pointers throughout the night.
“It was raining,”Gateretse said. “We were very hungry.”
After battling back and forth for the lead near the close of the second half, Gateretse closed the last few minutes with seven points, putting USU up 47-38 heading into the locker room.
True to their season trend, the Aggies found their rhythm in the second half after working out the kinks of a slow start and playing tug-of-war with the lead.
The Aggies came out of the locker room applying an aggressive defensive style of play, coupled with their quick transition offense that smothered Nevada.
“We wanted to play faster than them tonight,” Calhoun said. “We were going to press from start to finish. And I thought it set the tempo and just created havoc.”
Havoc later showcased as the Aggies converted Nevada’s 18 turnovers into 25 points, displaying their ability to dominate both defensively and offensively.
Executing a new strategy to slow the players’ work in the paint, Nevada implemented a zone defense coming into the second half. In response, Aggie guards “let it rain.”
Ian Martinez was the first to respond to the zone defense, firing off two three-pointers within two minutes and beginning the frenzy for an unstoppable shooting offense that would have the Aggies leaving the court hitting 60% of their three-point attempts.
The players’ command of the court was evident from the start of the second half, with Martinez sinking yet another three-pointer. On the next play, guard Mason Falslev blocked a three-point attempt, sending the ball flying into the hands of Gateretse. Exploiting the possession shift, the Aggies pushed the ball upcourt quickly, finding Martinez again, who knocked down another three despite tight defensive pressure. Martinez finished shooting seven for nine from the three-point-line.
Martinez wasn’t the only one cashing in behind the arc. Dexter Akanno added five threes of his own to the stat sheet. Tucker Anderson struck down two. Falslev and Deyton Albury each sank one.
When asked why they didn’t have a lot of rebounds, Calhoun responded with a shrug.
“If you shoot a high percentage shot, there’s not a whole lot of rebounds,” he said.
It was evident Nevada couldn’t respond to the threats in the paint while simultaneously responding to diverse shooting threats beyond the arc. Shooting over 53% overall on the night themselves just wasn’t enough for the Wolf Pack to fight back into it.
“We have a lot of winning DNA,” Calhoun said. The Aggies look forward to testing their winning DNA on the road with a quick turnaround, facing the Air Force Falcons this Saturday.
The post Aggies Bounce Back with a Dominant Win Over Nevada appeared first on The Utah Statesman.
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