Great Osobor's 20 points, 14 rebounds lift Utah State over No. 13 Colorado State 77-72
AP
Jan 07, 2024
LOGAN, Utah (AP) Great Osobor scored 20 points and had 14 rebounds and Mason Falslev added 18 points to lift Utah State Aggies over No. 13 Colorado State Rams 77-72 on Saturday night.
Osobor’s final points from the free-throw line - where he was 8 for 8 - made it 69-60 for Utah State with 1:56 left.
“It was a war in the post,” Osobor said. “They're pushing, they're fouling. I love it, to be honest.”
After trailing most of the game, Josh Uduje capped a 10-0 run with a 3-point play on a follow shot to put the Aggies up 65-57 with 3:57 remaining.
“Spectrum magic is real and tonight we really did see it. The crowd was amazing,” Uduje said of the boost the Spectrum arena fans gave the team.
Fans flooded the court and engulfed the happy Aggies as they won their 13th straight.
“Once they stormed the court, I thought, 'Oh, we're really doing this.' It was fun!” said Osobor, a junior from England.
Utah State (14-1, 2-0 Mountain West Conference) last won against a ranked team on March 7, 2020, defeating fifth-ranked San Diego State 59-56.
Isaiah Stevens led the Rams (13-2, 1-1) with 21 points and eight assists. His late scoring flurry made things interesting but he missed a one-and-one free throw late. Colorado State was 4 for 11 from the line.
“We did have a chance down the stretch but missed two front ends of one-and-ones and missed free throws to make it a one-possession game. We got outscored by 16 points from the free-throw line,” Colorado State coach Niko Medved said.
Nique Clifford had 18 points but fouled out with 1:14 left and Patrick Cartier scored 15 points before fouling out with 1:56 to play.
“He's one of the best guys in the country at getting fouled. We got to do a better job at defending without fouling,” Medved said of Osobor. “He does a great job of initiating contact on every play ... but he got us into foul trouble and it was an enormous factor in the game.”
Coach Danny Sprinkle extended the best-ever start for a first-year Aggies coach.
“We made just enough shots and got to the free-throw line. If we don’t go 20 for 23, we don’t win the game. Our guys were aggressive,” said Sprinkle, who had to change his clothes after getting doused by his players in the locker room.
Osobor, who played for Sprinkle at Montana State before moving to Utah State, gave the Aggies their first lead of the game with 15:28 remaining on a layup to make it 42-41.
“Coach always tells me, ‘When you play hard, with your talent, it’s very hard to match,’” Osobor said.
The Rams led by as many as 10 in the first half and had a 32-28 lead at halftime.
“We could have a much bigger lead but we missed a ton of bunnies at the rim,” Medved said.
BIG PICTURE
Colorado State: The Ram’s motion offense was a bit herky-jerky for a team that has shot 53% on the season.
Utah State: After missing nine straight shots and falling behind in the first half, the Aggies clawed their way back into the game. The Aggies outrebounded the Rams 45-33 and shot 63% in the second half to pull out the win.
UP NEXT
Colorado State: Visits Boise State on Tuesday night.
Utah State: Hosts Wyoming on Tuesday night.
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1st Half
COST
Rams
32
UTST
Aggies
28
Time
Team
Play
Score
20:00
Patrick Cartier vs. Great Osobor (Isaiah Stevens gains possession)
19:29
Rams turnover (shot clock violation)
19:08
Ian Martinez turnover (out of bounds)
18:53
Jalen Lake misses two point jump shot
18:51
Great Osobor defensive rebound
18:45
+3
Darius Brown II makes three point jump shot
0-3
18:20
+2
Patrick Cartier makes two point layup (Nique Clifford assists)
2-3
18:11
+2
Mason Falslev makes two point layup
2-5
17:59
Mason Falslev personal foul
17:45
+3
Jalen Lake makes three point jump shot (Isaiah Stevens assists)
5-5
17:24
Joel Scott personal foul (Isaac Johnson draws the foul)
17:17
Darius Brown II misses two point jump shot
17:15
Great Osobor offensive rebound
17:09
Isaac Johnson misses three point jump shot
17:07
Isaiah Stevens defensive rebound
17:00
Joel Scott misses two point layup
16:58
Isaac Johnson defensive rebound
16:41
Mason Falslev misses two point layup
16:40
Isaiah Stevens defensive rebound
16:35
Patrick Cartier misses two point jump shot
16:34
Isaac Johnson defensive rebound
16:31
+2
Great Osobor makes two point layup (Mason Falslev assists)
5-7
15:58
+2
Nique Clifford makes two point layup (Isaiah Stevens assists)
7-7
15:41
Nique Clifford blocks Darius Brown II's two point layup
15:39
Joel Scott defensive rebound
15:33
Nique Clifford misses three point jump shot
15:31
Patrick Cartier offensive rebound
15:23
+3
Isaiah Stevens makes three point jump shot
10-7
15:17
Mason Falslev misses three point jump shot
15:15
Nique Clifford defensive rebound
15:08
Isaiah Stevens misses two point jump shot
15:05
Isaac Johnson defensive rebound
14:47
Nique Clifford personal foul
14:29
TV timeout
14:16
Mason Falslev misses two point dunk
14:14
Josh Uduje offensive rebound
14:07
Darius Brown II misses two point jump shot
14:06
Rams defensive rebound
13:58
+2
Nique Clifford makes two point layup
12-7
13:58
Rashaan Mbemba shooting foul (Great Osobor draws the foul)
13:58
+1
Great Osobor makes regular free throw 1 of 2
12-8
13:43
+1
Great Osobor makes regular free throw 2 of 2
12-9
13:41
Darius Brown II personal foul
13:35
Ian Martinez blocks Rashaan Mbemba's two point layup
13:34
Josh Uduje defensive rebound
13:30
Ian Martinez misses three point jump shot
13:29
Great Osobor offensive rebound
13:26
Josiah Strong personal foul
13:21
Rashaan Mbemba shooting foul (Great Osobor draws the foul)
13:21
+1
Great Osobor makes regular free throw 1 of 2
12-10
13:21
+1
Great Osobor makes regular free throw 2 of 2
12-11
13:07
+3
Joe Palmer makes three point jump shot (Josiah Strong assists)
15-11
12:39
Ian Martinez offensive foul (Nique Clifford draws the foul)
12:39
Ian Martinez turnover (offensive foul)
12:29
+2
Patrick Cartier makes two point layup (Isaiah Stevens assists)
17-11
12:16
Josh Uduje misses two point layup
12:14
Great Osobor offensive rebound
12:14
Great Osobor misses two point dunk
12:12
Great Osobor offensive rebound
12:12
Joe Palmer personal foul (Great Osobor draws the foul)
12:08
Ian Martinez turnover (traveling)
11:48
Isaiah Stevens misses three point jump shot
11:46
Joe Palmer offensive rebound
11:40
+2
Patrick Cartier makes two point layup (Josiah Strong assists)
19-11
11:12
Javon Jackson misses three point jump shot
11:10
Joe Palmer defensive rebound
11:00
Patrick Cartier misses three point jump shot
10:58
Josiah Strong offensive rebound
10:39
Patrick Cartier misses three point jump shot
10:37
Joe Palmer offensive rebound
10:29
Joe Palmer misses two point layup
10:27
Mason Falslev defensive rebound
10:24
Ian Martinez misses two point layup
10:23
Taviontae Jackson defensive rebound
10:21
+2
Taviontae Jackson makes two point layup
21-11
10:15
Aggies 30 second timeout
10:15
TV timeout
10:07
+2
Mason Falslev makes two point layup
21-13
9:52
Javon Jackson blocks Jalen Lake's two point layup
9:33
Ian Martinez defensive rebound
9:33
Isaac Johnson turnover (bad pass)
9:07
Joel Scott misses two point layup
9:05
Darius Brown II defensive rebound
8:50
+2
Darius Brown II makes two point jump shot (Great Osobor assists)
21-15
8:20
Kyan Evans misses three point jump shot
8:18
Mason Falslev defensive rebound
8:05
Mason Falslev misses three point jump shot
8:03
Jalen Lake defensive rebound
7:57
Kyan Evans misses two point layup
7:55
Great Osobor defensive rebound
7:43
Taviontae Jackson personal foul (Mason Falslev draws the foul)
7:43
TV timeout
7:43
+1
Mason Falslev makes regular free throw 1 of 2
21-16
7:43
+1
Mason Falslev makes regular free throw 2 of 2
21-17
7:25
+2
Joel Scott makes two point layup (Isaiah Stevens assists)