Courtesy of Utah State Athletics
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Utah State’s run in the NCAA Tournament ended with a 106-67 loss to No. 1 seed and third-ranked Purdue here inside the Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Sunday.
All-American Zach Edey led the Boilermakers with 23 points and 14 rebounds and Purdue shot a blistering 55.9 percent (38-of-68), including 47.8 percent (11-of-23) from 3-point range and 82.6 percent (19-of-23) at the free throw line.
Junior wing Great Osobor led Utah State with 14 points and six rebounds, while junior guard Josh Uduje scored 13 points, graduate guard Darius Brown II scored 12 points, senior guard Ian Martinez added 11 points and redshirt freshman guard Mason Falslev finished with 10 points and a career high two blocked shots.
Utah State shot 35.9 percent (23-of-64), including 33.3 percent (9-of-27) from 3-point range, and 75.0 percent (12-of-16) at the free throw line.
Purdue dominated the game inside as it had a 44-18 advantage in points in the paint and outrebounded USU 49-26.
Purdue used a 16-0 run midway through the first half to turn a 24-23 deficit into a 39-24 lead and led 49-33 at the half. USU scored the first four points of the game on a dunk by Osobor and a layup by Falslev. Martinez later made back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Aggies a 14-10 advantage at the 13:51 mark. Uduje followed with consecutive 3-pointers of his own as Utah State held a 23-21 lead with 9:21 to play. USU then missed its next 12 shots as the Boilermakers broke open the game and took a 49-33 lead into the locker room at the half.
Purdue shot 51.5 percent (17-of-33) in the first half, including 33.3 percent (3-of-9) from 3-point range, as was 12-of-16 (.750) at the free throw line. USU shot 36.4 percent (12-of-33), including 5-of-15 (.333) from 3-point range, and was 4-for-7 (.571) at the free throw line.
Purdue dominated the glass in the first half as it outrebounded Utah State 25-15 including seven to four on the offensive end, which led to a 12-3 advantage in second chance points.
Martinez led Utah State with 11 first-half points, while Osobor had eight and Uduje added seven.
Purdue scored the first six points of the second half and Utah State never got closer than 20 points. Purdue’s lead swelled to 30 points with 12:57 to play and the Boilermakers took its largest lead of the game at 89-48 with 7:47 remaining.
Utah State ends its season with a 28-7 record, which is tied for the third-most wins in school history and is one of just six teams in school history to win 28 games. It was also just the second time since the 1970 season that USU advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, joining the 2001 team.
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