Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Tucker Anderson's late 3-pointer secured Utah State's 67-66 win over No. 20 San Diego State.
- Anderson, previously shooting poorly, scored a season-high 16 points, aided by intense practice.
- The victory marks Utah State's first road win over a ranked opponent since 1991.
SAN DIEGO — The last time Tucker Anderson made a game-winning shot was his senior year of high school, but whatever space that previous moment holds in his brain has likely been usurped.
What he did Saturday night resulted in the biggest win of Utah State's season to date.
Anderson made a 3-pointer with seven seconds remaining to lift the Aggies (12-1, 2-0 MW) to a comeback 67-66 victory over No. 20 San Diego State (8-3, 1-1 MW).
"The feeling is just amazing," Tucker said. "Having all my teammates trust me, even with the year I've been having — shooting really poorly — is just really incredible."
Anderson came into Saturday shooting just 20.5% from the 3-point line.
Aggies head coach Jerrod Calhoun said Anderson has been working on his shot "two to three times a day" for the last month and a half with assistant coach Mantoris Robinson. Anderson has also dealt with a family member being in the hospital recently.
"There's not a better story for a kid. ... He's so deserving," Calhoun said.
Anderson finished with a season-high 16 points and went 4-of-7 from behind the 3-point line. His last two shots came in the final minutes of the second half.
Utah State trailed 66-64 with 50 seconds left and San Diego State's BJ Davis missed a 3-pointer with 29 seconds left. But Anderson's triple over the outstretched arm of a San Diego State defender went in off a pass from Mason Falslev.
"Just so proud of him that he had the guts to take the shot," Calhoun said.
Ian Martinez led Utah State with 17 points and four rebounds; while Falslev had 16 points, four rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes.
Wayne Mckinney III missed a 3-pointer that would've given the Aztecs the lead on the other end to seal the victory.
The Aztecs went on an 8-0 run late to lead 65-58, but Martinez made two free throws and Anderson made a corner 3-pointer to cut Utah State's deficit to just 1 with 1:14 remaining.
San Diego State dominated the game for much of the first half, where the Aztecs went up 10 with about nine minutes left, and extended it to 18 with 1:55 left.
But the Aggies went on a 10-3 run to close the half as Martinez made two 3-pointers and Falslev scored on a layup at the halftime buzzer during the stretch.
"I thought that five-minute run at the end of the first half was the changing point in the game," Calhoun said.
Utah State cut its deficit to 45-42 in the first five minutes of the second half. The Aggies played much harder on defense and came out of the locker room with a different mentality.
"We knew it was going to be hard, but we really wanted it," Anderson said.
The Aggies took a 56-55 lead when Falslev scored on a layup with 6:19 left in the game. It was their first lead of the game at the time.
Utah State held the Aztecs to just 23 points and didn't allow one made 3-pointer in the second half.
The win marks the first time San Diego State has lost to Utah State on its home floor. It was also Utah State's first road win over a ranked opponent since 1991.
