Field Level Media
Mar 14, 2024
Great Osobor had 29 points and 17 rebounds to help top-seeded Utah State post a 87-75 overtime win against ninth-seeded Fresno State in a Mountain West Conference quarterfinal Thursday afternoon in Las Vegas.
After avoiding the upset, the Aggies will play fifth-seeded San Diego State in the semifinals on Friday evening.
Darius Brown II finished with 17 points and 11 assists and Javon Jackson scored 16 points off the bench for Utah State (27-5), which has won six in a row and eight of its last nine.
Jalen Weaver scored 19 points off the bench, Isaiah Hill had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Isaiah Pope finished with 12 points for Fresno State (12-21), which dropped eight of its last nine.
The Aggies scored the first 11 points of overtime before Fresno State finally scored with 50 seconds left.
The Aggies gained some early separation with a 6-0 run that extended their lead to 16-8 with 12:18 left in the first half, but Fresno State came back with a 12-0 run to move ahead 20-16 with 8:31 remaining.
The Bulldogs took their biggest lead 33-26 on two free throws by Pope with 2:52 left, but Utah State came back with seven straight points to tie the score at 33-33.
Jackson picked up loose ball and banked in to put Utah State ahead 35-34 with 47 seconds remaining, but Jalen Weaver made two free throws with 22 seconds remaining to give the Bulldogs a 36-35 lead at the break.
Ian Martinez made a layup on the first possession of the second half for the Aggies to give them a 37-36 lead.
Brown sank a 3 to beat the shot clock after recovering a loose ball to make it 51-42 with 14:41 remaining.
The Bulldogs answered with seven straight points to knot it at 57-57 with 10:03 left.
The score remained close before Hill made a layup to tie it 70-70 with 1:24 left and that score remained until the end of regulation.
--Field Level Media