Osobor scores 31 points to lead No. 17 Utah State past San Jose State 82-61

By JOHN COON
Associated Press

LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Great Osobor scored 31 points to lead No. 17 Utah State to an 82-61 victory over San Jose State on Tuesday night.

Osobor had his third 30-point game of the season to help the Aggies (19-2, 7-1 Mountain West) win their third straight game. The junior forward accounted for nearly one-third of his team’s total baskets by himself while picking apart San Jose State’s defense in the paint.

“Regardless of how I play, I try to stay with that mindset and that confidence that you’re going to have to struggle to guard me,” Osobor said. “I’m pretty confident as a player and I felt like my team put me in good positions to be successful tonight.”

Ian Martinez had 16 points, and Darius Brown II added 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Aggies. Utah State shot 60% from the field and outrebounded the Spartans 39-25.

MJ Amey led San Jose State with 14 points and Alvaro Cardenas had 11. The Spartans (8-13, 1-7) scored 15 points off 14 forced turnovers but shot just 39% from the floor.

Utah State went smaller on defense, playing Josh Uduje at power forward in place of Isaac Johnson for long stretches to disrupt San Jose State’s perimeter shooters. The Aggies limited the Spartans to 21% from beyond the arc.

“I thought that was effective against us,” San Jose State coach Tim Miles said. “When they were bigger, I thought we operated with a little more flow on offense.”

San Jose State took advantage of some sloppiness from Utah State and seized a 15-10 lead after scoring eight points off five early turnovers. Amey accounted for three of the Spartans’ first five baskets.

Utah State surged in front late in the first half while San Jose State endured a cold spell on offense. The Spartans made one basket over a 5 1/2-minute stretch.

Osobor had no trouble finding a rhythm on the other end. He punctuated a 10-2 run with back-to-back baskets that gave the Aggies a 35-26 lead.

He picked up where he left off in the second half and scored three of Utah State’s first five baskets after halftime. With Osobor relentlessly attacking the rim, the Aggies used a 12-0 spurt to extend their advantage to 53-36.

“Once we started getting stops, our energy picked up in the second half,” said Utah State coach Danny Sprinkle, who earned his 100th career victory. “That’s when we got some transition post-ups for Great and we really punched that ball inside.”

Osobor went 9 for 15 from the field and 13 of 19 at the foul line. He accounted for all of Utah State’s free-throw attempts until Uduje made a pair with 2:52 left.

The 19 free throws were the most attempted by a Utah State player in one game since 1970.

BIG PICTURE

San Jose State lost to a Mountain West opponent by double digits for a third consecutive game and closed out January with one win in eight games.

Utah State has won 31 straight home games against San Jose State dating to 1982. The Aggies have lost just three times in the last 40 meetings.

UP NEXT

San Jose State visits Nevada on Friday.

Utah State visits San Diego State on Saturday.

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