Great Osobor Scores 1,000th Career Point, Helping Utah State To Road Win Over Wyoming
Feb 14, 2024, 10:12 PM | Updated: Feb 15, 2024, 10:43 am
LARAMIE, Wyoming – The Darius Brown II show was early, with Great Osobor taking over late, leading Utah State to an 84-76 win over Wyoming.
The plucky Cowboys (12-12, 5-6) gave USU (21-4, 8-3) all they could handle but came up short in the final minutes.
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Took care of business 😤#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/Xak68Dl9Wo
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 15, 2024
Brown II led the Aggies with 22 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Brown’s four threes also paced the team. Despite not finishing with his usual gaudy numbers, Osobor made big plays on both ends down the stretch. The junior wing finished the night with 10 points, four rebounds, and four blocks. Ian Martinez (13 points) and Josh Uduje (20 points) each reached double figures.
Wyoming’s Brendan Wenzel scored 24 to lead all scorers.
First Half
Darius Brown II, the Aggies’ leading assist man, hit his first two shots, but USU trailed 9-7 with 15:50 left in the half.
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DB3⃣
⚡️ @dariusbrownii #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/NeG7jNItYU
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 15, 2024
Wyoming started the half hot, hitting seven of 11 shots to build an 18-14 lead.
Brendan Wenzel was on fire, hitting two early threes on his way to ten points. The Cowboys controlled the early action to take a 23-20 lead at the under-eight-minute timeout.
Wyoming’s lead ballooned to ten, forcing Danny Sprinkle to call a timeout to stop the momentum.
Josh already with 9⃣ off the bench!
⚡️ @JUduje #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/ACczvm8MvD
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 15, 2024
An and-one finish from Isaac Johnson gave the Aggies a much-needed boost. Johnson missed the freebie to keep the deficit at eight.
In the final minute, Karson Templin grabbed an offensive rebound and went right through the defense, drawing the foul and going to the line. Utah State trailed by three after the free throw.
The Cowboys took a 43-39 lead into the locker room. Brown II led all scorers with 15 points and three threes. Wenzel scored a dozen in the opening 20 minutes.
Second Half
With the Cowboys almost eliminating the post-presence of Aggie’s leading scorer, Great Osobor, Isaac Johnson came alive.
Johnson hit a three and then a putback bucket for five quick second-half points as USU cut the deficit to 45-44. The run continued with another Brown three, giving Utah State a 9-0 run and its first lead since 7-6 early in the first half.
DB FOR THE LEAD 👌
⚡️ @dariusbrownii #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/7SdmCgRo7j
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 15, 2024
Both teams went into the under-12 timeout looking for a way to get consistent stops, tied at 55.
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Out of a timeout, Brown found Osobor in the post for an easy dunk that retook the lead, 61-60.
1⃣ with the slam!
⚡️ @GreatOsobor #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/g3qLz86kEh
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 15, 2024
USU’s defense started stringing together some stops, holding the Cowboys without a field goal for more than four minutes. The drought allowed Sprinkle’s team to build the lead to 65-60.
The Aggies led by four with 3:25 to play.
IAN MARTINEZ 💪
⚡️ @IanJumaine #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/H8XY5hwfKI
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 15, 2024
With his team up by five, Osobor’s 1,000th career point came on a one-handed tip that gave the Aggies a 73-66 lead.
USU pulled away in the final minutes to pick up an 84-76 win.
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Utah State travels to Fort Collins, Colorado, on Saturday, February 17, for a rematch with the Colorado State Rams. A 77-72 Aggie win over then-No. 13 CSU in early January propelled USU to five weeks in the AP Top 25.
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Brian Preece is a KSLsports.com insider covering the Utah State Aggies, Locals in MLB, and Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees, Beehive baseball, and Aggie athletics coverage here.
