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LOGAN — In an impressive team showing, Utah State took down 19th-ranked San Diego State 68-63 to claim first place in the Mountain West.
"Obviously, super proud of our team," Aggies head coach Danny Sprinkle said. "The way they responded against the team that was a national runner up last year. … Everybody had their hand in (the win), you know? Our team is so together. That's what makes this group special."
In a close affair, the Aggies' lead was cut to just 1 point late in the game, but the Aggies held the Aztecs scoreless through nearly four minutes of the final five minutes of game play to seal the win.
"It shows that we're fighters," said guard Darius Brown II, who scored 25 points on the night. "I think sometimes people hit the panic button on us sometimes when games go bad. … Knowing this team, we're fighters, and we'll be fine."
The game was as-advertised; the pendulum of momentum swung back and forth all evening, ultimately swinging in favor of the Aggies. No team led by more than 10 points at any point in the game; both teams picked up a technical foul in the second half, illustrating the intense emotion of the evening.
"We knew that first place was at stake, and I've been hyped for it all week," Brown said. "I think that's what kind of brought the emotion into it, is that we were all really ready and really excited for this game."
Brown and Great Osobor, Sprinkle's Montana State transfer duo, carried the Aggies offense through the contest. Together, they accounted for 42 points on 15-of-23 shooting.
Osobor had his hands full throughout the evening, playing against one of the top players in the Mountain West in Jaedon LeDee, who scored 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting and pulled down six rebounds.
"He's one of the best players in America," Osobor said of LeDee. "He's a lot to handle. … I love matchups like that. When you get to play against the best players, like, it gets me going. I went to bed last night excited."
The matchup between Osobor and LeDee was what was expected from two candidates for Mountain West Player of the Year.
"That was two big hogs just literally mud wrestling the whole game," Sprinkle said. "(Osobor) and Ledee, that's two of the best bigs in the country."
The Aggies, who lost on the road to the Aztecs earlier this season and were coming off a 20-point loss to Colorado State, were physical and fierce from the opening tip in an attempt to get back on track and avenge the loss. Sprinkle said his team had a "chip on their shoulder" that was noticeable Tuesday night.
The win also prompted Aggies faithful to chant, "We love Sprinkle," at the conclusion of the game.
"It's awesome, but like, (the fans) love the team," Sprinkle said of the chant. "The team is the one that does that stuff, man. Like they're the ones making the shots, making the extra efforts, the rebounds, battling LeDee for 40 minutes, like, that's a hard team, man."
The win marks the end of a tough stretch of schedule for the Aggies. Utah State will get a full week off before their next contest, which will come on the road against Fresno State next Tuesday.
Three of the Aggies' final four regular season matchups will come against arguably the three worst teams in the Mountain West (Fresno State, Air Force, and San Jose State). Should the Aggies take care of business in those matchups, they will eclipse 25 wins in the regular season and should be a lock for the NCAA Tournament.
