In the toughest game of the season so far, Utah State needed someone to step up and make the biggest plays to get a win over a very solid Iowa team at the T-Mobile Center in Kansas City.
Mason Falslev was that man.
For the second time in as many games, Falslev matched his career-high with 25 points, though he also matched or set several other career-best marks. He grabbed 12 rebounds, an untied career-high which also gave the redshirt sophomore the first double-double at the collegiate level. He also made a trio of 3-pointers, added three assists, a block and a steal.
Spurred by that production, the Aggies came away with a 77-69 victory in what will likely be a Quad 1 victory down the line and a resume-building performance.
Another stat from Falslev that likely made head coach Jerrod Calhoun happy was the one, just one, turnover Falslev had all night. Mainly because so many other USU guards struggled. As a team, the Aggies had 18 giveaways, including nine from the top two points guards, Drake Allen and Deyton Albury. Ian Martinez had three turnovers, adding up to a night where USU’s top ball-handlers had way too many miscues that led to 14 points off turnovers for Iowa. Calhoun called it a “clunky” offensive performance but also said that “you win games ugly early (in the season), so it’s better to win than lose.”
“Usually we score a lot more points. So you have to credit Iowa,” Calhoun said. “I thought defensively they played really, really hard. They made things really hard on us.”
Turnovers and some generally cold shooting held back Utah State’s offense, which entered the game as the top scoring team in the country at 104.0 points on average with a season-low still all the way up at 95 points. The Hawkeyes swatted several shots inside that contributed to USU shooting just 36 percent in the opening half. Not helping matters was Martinez’s jump shot going cold. He’d been shooting 53.5 percent from the field (including a ludicrous 56.0 percent on 3-pointers) but he made just 6 of 15 shots Friday night (though he did add six assists, six rebounds, three steals and a block). He also got into foul trouble, picking up a second foul with 8:42 left to play before halftime. Center Aubin Gateretse was also caught two whistles and had to take an extended break on the bench.
“Ian, he’s a great scorer and having him out in the first half was definitely a difference,” Falslev said. “We had to change and adapt because he’s usually our guy coming off screens and pulling up and making all the shots.”
With those limitations, you’d think Iowa would run away with the first half. However, the Hawkeyes had their own struggles to start the game. As a team, they had shot 38.8 percent from 3-point range with three players boasting a season percentage north of 40 percent. These elite 3-point shooters went out and made just 5 of 26 attempts from distance on Friday, including an 0-for-9 start. Payton Sandfort, who has a career percentage of 36.3 on 3-pointers, had a nightmare shooting night, going 1 of 13 on threes alone, even missing several wide-open long-balls by the end of the game.
Calhoun said the key to throwing Iowa off its 3-point rhythm was mainly “inching out on shooters” and “trying to keep people in front.”
“We watched all five games and their big part of their offense is 3-point shooting,” Calhoun said. “So you have to really, really be able to guard the ball to take the three away. And I think that’s what the difference was.”
With both sides having their own separate struggles, not much stood between the teams for most of the game. Utah State took a small lead early, but topped out at just a five-point advantage. Iowa went on a 6-0 run to take the lead in the middle of the first half, but never led by more than six. Falslev made a tip-in layup right before the end of the first half to make it 37-33.
Iowa held its two-possession lead for nine minutes of the second half as Utah State struggled to make a run stick. A couple of times, they made short runs to tie the game, once at 43-43 and later 49-49. It wasn’t until after Iowa took a 53-49 lead that the Aggies finally pushed forward, and it began with a Martinez poster dunk.
IAN FROM THE TOP ROPE 😲
⚡️ @IanJumaine #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/vHJ5WNMPGr
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 23, 2024
Martinez added a long 2-pointer moments later to tie the game 53-53 then, with Falslev’s help on a pair of free throws that gave USU its first lead since the middle of the opening half, he pushed the Aggies to a 9-0 run and tying their largest lead of the night, 58-53, with 10 minutes to play.
Falslev then took his turn to be the lead man, scoring a layup and then a wild 3-pointer that put USU up by six.
Mason 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝘇𝘇𝗲𝗿‼️
⚡️ @mason_falslev #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/knBzolrkzu
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 23, 2024
With that multi-possession lead in hand, all the Aggies needed to do was finish the job, which they did in solid fashion, holding Iowa to 3-of7 from the field, with two turnovers over the last four minutes of the game, which helped bump the lead up to as high as nine points late in the contest. Calhoun credited his players, citing the success many had last year with the Aggies, with being able to execute late and get a win.
“We’ve got unbelievable kids,” Calhoun said. “Mason won 28 games last year. He won an NCAA tournament game. So this guy knows what it’s about. So does Ian Martinez. So does Isaac Johnson, Karson Templin. Our guys are winners and they’re gonna find a way to win and they did that tonight.”
Along with Falslev’s 25, two other Aggies scored in double figures — Martinez with 13 and Tucker Anderson with 10 off the bench. Templin also contributed heavily in just 16 minutes of play, filling the stat sheet with seven points, eight rebounds with a block and a steal.
Utah State now advances to 5-0 on the young season, with Calhoun becoming the fifth head coach in Utah State history to be undefeated through five games in his first season in Logan. USU also remains as the last undefeated team in the Mountain West.
