Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Utah State basketball defeated Westminster 117-53, improving to a 3-0 record.
- Ian Martinez led with 24 points, making seven 3-pointers, and showcased strong leadership.
- Coach Calhoun praised the team's defense but noted room for improvement.
LOGAN — Ian Martinez met a group of young family members after Utah State basketball's win over Charlotte over the weekend. The children waited for him while the team had dinner.
One of the boys then told Martinez he wanted to see the graduate student mime shooting a bow-and-arrow celebration after making a 3-pointer. Martinez obliged.
"Luckily, I happened to have a pretty good day where I made a lot of 3s," Martinez said. "I did it for him."
Martinez made seven 3-pointers and led Utah State to a 117-53 drubbing of Westminster on Wednesday with a game-high 24 points.
"I don't think I've ever had it like this good," Martinez said. "I don't think I've made this many 3s in a game before."
Martinez made six 3-pointers in a game on Jan. 13 against UNLV.
On Wednesday, Martinez said most of the attempts he got from beyond the arc were "wide open," and he credited his teammates for finding him and Aggies first-year coach Jerrod Calhoun's offensive system.
As a team, the Aggies shot 55% (17-of-31) from the 3-point line — the Griffins made 11 fewer shots from that distance compared to Utah State.
"We have a lot of guys, I think, that can really, really fill it up from 3," Calhoun said.
Dexter Akanno contributed 17 points and three steals, while Karson Templin scored 16 points and had six rebounds and a block off the bench.
Utah State forced Westminster into 24 turnovers, and much of that was due to the team's active, pressing defense. In other moments, it was the active hands from several Aggies players getting deflections and steals. Utah State scored 32 points on fast breaks and 47 points off turnovers.
Calhoun said his team "would be silly" not to press on defense "at times." He mentioned several of his players who are athletic enough to sustain that high-intensity defense throughout the season, and also praised his strength coach, Brandon Buskey.
Calhoun added that the state of his press defense is "not great" and needs improvement.
"We haven't worked it a ton," Calhoun said. "But it's something we're going to be able to go to, I think."
Calhoun said Martinez has a chance to be Mountain West Player of the Year. He added that one of his best player's biggest improvements is his passing and leadership.
"He's going to be a go-to guy," Calhoun said of Martinez.
And if Martinez keeps shooting the ball like he did Wednesday, USU fans — and that young boy — will continue to see that bow-and-arrow celebration.
"I'm going to keep doing it," Martinez said.
After Wednesday's win, the Aggies now have an average margin of victory of 49.3 points through its first three games of the 2024-25 season. The Aggies improved to 3-0 on the season, which continues Monday at home against Montana before going on the road for three games.
