Box Score
GEORGE TOWN, GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS – The crown of the 2023 Cayman Islands Classic has been placed squarely upon the Utah State Aggies after a convincing 79-49 triumph over Stephen F. Austin Tuesday evening in the tournament’s championship game.
Four players chipped in with double figure scoring for Utah State (5-1), paced by Mason Falsev with a game-high 19 points. The redshirt freshman also posted nine rebounds and six assists on his way to earning all-tournament honors, backed by his 8-for-10 shooting effort from the field.
Junior center Great Osobor, named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player, filled the stat sheet with 14 points, seven rebounds, two assists, three steals and three blocked shots.
Graduate guard Darius Brown II posted a double-double with 11 points and 10 assists and senior Ian Martinez scored 13 points.
SFA was topped in scoring by junior forward Nana Antwi Boasiako with 11 points on 4-for-6 shooting. The Lumberjacks (4-2) were held to 34 percent shooting from the floor (19-for-56).
Senior AJ Cajuste and junior Latrell Jossell each claimed a spot on the all-tournament team.
It was an uneasy, six-point advantage that Utah State lugged to the halftime break at 32-26, despite edging away to as much as an 11-point lead in the opening 20 minutes. That margin came three times, the last at 30-19 with 5:24 to play before SFA answered with a 7-0 run, kicked off with a 3-pointer from Jossell.
The Aggies connected on 56 percent of their field goal tries in the first half (15-for-27) despite missing all six 3-point tries.
Maybe uneasy going into the break, the Aggies were comfortable coming out of the intermission, opening the second frame with a 11-2 run to regain a 15-point edge just three minutes into the period. They maintained control throughout, ballooning their advantage up to 34 points, 79-45, with 2:47 remaining.
A couple of other indicators signaling their dominance, the Aggies forced 18 turnovers and converted that to a 23-6 advantage in points produced off those miscues. The Aggies also won the footrace, owning a 12-0 difference in fast break points, as well as pulling down a 38-28 lead on the boards.