Just over 13 months ago, one of the more iconic moments in the history of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum took place. A shot that secured a win over a conference rival and completed a 13-point second-half comeback for Utah State against Boise State.
The Aggies and Broncos had both started Mountain West play relatively strong. USU had won all four conference games, including tough matchups at San Diego State and at Nevada. Boise State was 4-1 with the lone loss being to SDSU. Utah State was favored, but it was the Broncos who held control more often, especially when they built a 13-point lead during the second half.
Unfazed, USU cut the lead down piece by piece and even took the lead as the final stretch of the game approached. In the last four minutes of the game there were five lead changes, the last two being incredible plays by both teams.
As the clock ticked under 30 seconds, it was the Aggies who held a narrow lead, 77-76. Boise State guard Alvaro Cardenas changed that by hitting a 3-pointer with 15 seconds to go to make it 79-77 in favor of the Broncos.
“I thought when Cardenas hit that shot at that end, we were in big trouble,” Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun recalled of that moment when speaking to media yesterday. “That was an incredible shot that he made.”
Utah State ran the ball down the court and took a timeout with 9.7 on the clock. Calhoun drew up a sideline out of bounds play, part of which included Ian Martinez coming off a Karson Templin pin-down screen. The Aggies were a heartbeat away from being whistled for a five-second violation on the inbound, but Drake Allen got his pass off to Martinez who let a 3-pointer fly.
As Martinez let go of the ball, Broncos forward Tyson Degenhart clipped his leg and the referee blew his whistle for a foul before the ball even got to the rim. The excitement over Martinez getting free throws that could give Utah State the lead was held off as fans waited to see if the shot would go in. After bouncing 4-5 times on the rim, the ball gently fell through the net and the crowd exploded.
“It felt like forever,” Martinez said at the time. “I was just there on the ground just watching and hoping it went in. It bounced about five times on the rim it was crazy. I couldn’t believe it.”
The Aggies went on to win 81-79 after Boise State couldn’t respond in the final 7.3 seconds after Martinez’s made shot.
Calhoun, in Tuesday’s media availability, said Martinez’s three was “one of the most unique shots” he’s seen. And the loudness of the crowd sticks with him to this day.
“I’d say probably the second loudest that I’ve experienced in this building,” Calhoun said. “Pretty electric when that ball went in.”
When asked what was the loudest, Calhoun said it was between the Martinez shot and when the Aggies rallied to take the lead against San Diego State earlier this season.
