Utah State used a dominant run late in the first half and a strong performance from Mason Falslev to defeat UNLV 80-60 in the Mountain West quarterfinal on Thursday.
Thomas & Mack Center, the home of the UNLV Rebels, was filled with Utah State students flown in on the school’s dime, and their noise fueled Utah State’s energy throughout the game and helped them seize momentum.
“It should be a home-field advantage, right here in Las Vegas,” Falslev said. “You look out there, and there’s a lot of Aggie
blue, the chants, the noise, you know, energy’s contagious.”
Despite the crowd working against them, the Rebels kept things competitive early, despite sloppy play from both teams. Turnovers were a constant for both squads in the opening minutes, with the Aggies and Rebels struggling to find rhythm.
UNLV took an early lead on contributions from Jacob Bannarbie and Kimani Hamilton. Still, Falslev took over near the end of the first half, scoring 17 points and spreading his rhythm and energy throughout the rest of the team.
“The game plan was not to settle,” Falslev said. “Go at them, get into the paint and just make the right plays.”
The Aggies closed the half on a 14-2 run to build a 37-23 halftime lead, completely flipping momentum to their side after struggling to shoot at the start of the game. Utah State finished the night shooting 50.9% and shot 40% from deep.
Head Coach Jerrod Calhoun said that run was the ultimate deciding factor in the game.
”College basketball is a game of runs,” Calhoun said. “When kids see the ball go through the basket, their intensity defensively picks up. The guy’s energy level just raised.”
Falslev led the team in scoring with 24 points and nine rebounds while shooting an efficient 10-of-16 from the floor.
MJ Collins Jr. also had himself a great night, scoring 20 points while adding four assists and three steals. Drake Allen added six points and five assists and was huge in helping Utah State grow its lead at the start of the second half.
Allen scored an at-one in the first few minutes of the second half, and a few possessions later dunked in transition on a breakaway. After those big plays, the Aggies remained in control for the rest of the night.
The Rebels attempted to make a comeback effort midway through the half, sparked by a skyscraping dunk from Tyrin Jones and a three-pointer from Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, which cut the deficit to 11. Gibbs-Lawhorn was noticeably quiet in the first half, only scoring two points in the first half, but he still led UNLV with 17 points.
As the Rebels were crawling back, tensions on the floor began to rise. After Falslev fell to the court on a rebound attempt, players from both teams exchanged some words. Hamilton was visibly frustrated and had to be held back by his teammates. Officials assessed technical fouls to both Hamilton and Garry Clark for Utah State.
”It’s a physical game. It’s an emotional game,” Allen said. “Sometimes you get riled up.”
The intensity was especially high because Utah State had lost to UNLV twice in the regular season.
“There’s a saying that it’s hard to beat a team three times,” Collins said. “We knew what it meant not only to us, but the coaches too.”
A little after the altercation, Hamilton fouled out with just over nine minutes remaining, and Utah State responded with another big scoring run to put the game completely out of reach.
A late steal and breakaway dunk from Collins Jr. pushed the Aggies’ lead past 20 points and sealed the deal.
Utah State’s late first-half surge was the turning point that the Aggies needed to control the second half and secure an 80-60 victory to advance to the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament.
