For a second straight night, Utah State started off a game with a pretty abysmal stretch of offense. And yet for a second straight game the Aggies pulled off a second-half rally and closed it out to win. This time the final tally read 61-57 in favor of USU over North Texas.
Utah Sate didn’t miss 18 straight field goals like it did against St. Bonaventure, but the Aggies did shoot 8 of 23 in the first half against North Texas in the title game of the two-game NIT Season Tip-Off tournament. Though in another similarity to the Thanksgiving Day game, Utah State kept the game close despite poor shooting. The Mean Green were themselves only 10 of 31 from the field and held only a 25-23 advantage at the break.
As to why the Aggies have had back-to-back poor shooting starts, head coach Jerrod Calhoun said the shot selection hasn’t been the issue.
“We’re getting open shots,” Calhoun said. “I’m not hitting the panic button. It’s nothing that we’re doing offensively. If you really watch the tape, the shots are wide open. So everybody’s going to go through a shooting slump or two throughout the season. Got to keep shooting the ball.”
Calhoun also gave due credit to North Texas, saying it’s “one of the best teams at turning you over” and that certainly happened a lot to the Aggies, specifically 16 times (second most this season).
Despite those issues from the opening half, the Aggies were able to find some offense in the second frame, and Mason Falslev was the biggest factor in figuring that out. The sophomore guard scored a career-best 28 points — the third game in his last four outings he’s tied or set a new career high in points — with 18 of those coming in the second half. Falslev shot 10 of 16 from the field himself while the rest of his teammates were 10 of 36 on the evening.
Calhoun said that in about the middle of the second half, Falslev was asking for the ball more and Calhoun obliged.
“I listened to one of our really good players,” Calhoun said. “And everything we called was pretty much for him down the stretch.”
The most impressive stretch of single-handed scoring from Falslev was when he scored six straight points for the Aggies which wound up giving them a lead they never gave up. With USU down 42-40, Falslev hit a pair of free throws to tie the game with North Texas’ Jasper Floyd briefly giving his team the lead back with a shot in the paint. Falslev proceeded to hit a 3-pointer while being fouled and completed the four-point play to put the Aggies up 46-44.
MASON FALSLEV. FOUR-POINT PLAY.
He’s got a career-high 26 points!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/3T9GwlbJnv
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 30, 2024
Falslev, recently named the Mountain West Player of the Week and the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week — along with being named the MVP of this two-game showcase — maintained humility in his post-game comments.
“We have a great team. we got a lot of depth and it just so happened that I was making shots,” Falslev said. “My teammates did a great job of getting me the ball and making great passes…It’s not just about one guy, it’s about our team and I’m just proud of them.”
More Aggies found their scoring touch later in the game to bolster the winning effort. Ian Martinez, who’s battled food poisoning the last couple days, scored seven points in the final seven minutes. Aubin Gateretse chipped in on both ends with rebounding and a pair of dunks that helped USU maintain a seven-point lead as the clocked ticked under two minutes to play.
THROW IT DOWN, BIG MAN! 💪
⚡️ @Aubinoooo #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/vOr7KGLnHn
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 30, 2024
North Texas’ final push came up short with a few putback layups not being enough to fully overcome USU’s late lead, but it did cut the advantage down to just three points in the final 20 seconds.
Utah State will return home for the next four games with its next game, against Wyoming, marking the start of Mountain West play for the Aggies (though it will be followed by four non-conference games, three at home and one on the road).
