LAS VEGAS — March brings out some of the craziness of college basketball and Utah State didn’t disappoint in a uniquely odd 70-58 win over UNLV in the quarterfinal of the Mountain West tournament.
The Aggies defense was both elite and poor in the game, holding the Rebels to 23.6 percent shooting, but also committing 27 fouls leading to 37 free throw attempts, of which UNLV made 29. According to the Stathead database, Utah State had never won a game in which an opponent made that many free throws in a game (0-4 in all other attempts). The Aggies were 4-13 in games in which an opponent made 25 shots at the line.
UNLV’s whole focus seemed to be pushing the ball inside the paint at all costs, either drawing a foul or getting a shot in the paint (or both).
“That’s their whole game plan, to isolate and attack us and get to the free throw line. And they did a good job of that,” USU guard Mason Falslev said. “We gotta do better in not fouling.”
Overcoming such a monumental number of free throws came down to a hot start to the game on offense, and enough consistency to rally through any pushes UNLV made throughout the game.
Utah State started off the game with a 16-5 lead, making six of its first 10 shots from the field and holding the Rebels to 1 of 11 within that same span. UNLV didn’t make its second field goal until the 10:20 mark of the first half.
Despite the great opening act, the Aggies wouldn’t cruise the rest of the way as the embattled Rebels had some life left. After Utah State took that 11-point lead, UNLV responded with an even better run, 17-3, which gave the tournament hosts a 22-19 advantage as the first half crossed under the six-minute mark.
UNLV was fighting for its season, and doing so without multiple key players. Dedan Thomas Jr., the team’s leadier in scoring all year, had missed the previous six games with Julian Rishwain going down with a season-ending injury in the regular season finale. With a thin rotation, the Rebels were running on fumes but managing to keep pace.
“I don’t know if Coach (Kevin) Kruger has got enough credit over the last seven or eight games. Thomas hurt, Rishwain hurt. I thought he’s done a masterful job of rallying his team,” Aggies head coach Jerrod Calhoun said of his UNLV counterpart. “They really battled the last eight games of the season. That’s not easy to do with that many injuries. That’s coaching. That’s leadership. That’s obviously buy-in from his group.”
The Rebels would seemingly eventually succumb to a lack of stamina, though, starting with the end of the first half. Over the final four minutes of the first, Utah State outscored UNLV by eight points, overcoming the brief late-half deficit to take a 36-29 lead into halftime. Tucker Anderson hit a big pair of 3-pointers to give the Aggies a shot in the arm offensively and the halftime lead got a last-second boost from Dexter Akanno.
Dexter Akanno BUZZER BEATER at the half!
📺 @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/bNK81uRDHA
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 14, 2025
Utah State found every chance to push the pace, even if it just came down to making UNLV sprint down the floor to defend in transition before the Aggies slowed things down, punishing the thin rotation. Three Rebels players played essentially the entire game (Jaden Henley and Jailen Bedford played all 40 minutes with Jalen Hill playing all but 20 seconds) and that full-game effort eventually took its toll on both ends.
“That’s always an emphasis for us, always trying to outrun every team,” Utah State guard Ian Martinez said. “One of our strengths is to try and get in transition.”
Early in the second half, Utah State had arguably its biggest push of the game in which it took control and arguably didn’t lose it the rest of the way. After UNLV drew within five points, the Aggies went on a 7-0 run to push their lead to 12 points 50-38, the largest of the game to that point. Karson Templin contributed five of those points, including his first made 3-pointer since Jan. 25.
KARSON TEMPLIN DUT-DUH-DUH-DUT! pic.twitter.com/Uwk721erK3
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 14, 2025
Templin contributed his fare share to the foul total, fouling out late in the game, but contributed in a major positive way with nine points and six rebounds.
“That’s what he’s done all year,” Calhoun said. “That three was big. I think that put us up 11 or 13 points and it really got our guys going.”
Martinez led Utah State with 17 points, despite spending a lot of time on the bench in foul trouble, though Falslev arguably earned player of the game with his all-around contributions. He scored 15 points, had nine rebounds, six assists and two steals with plenty more effort plays that didn’t fit into a category on the stat sheet.
Calhoun praised Falslev’s competitive nature that fueled the sophomore’s latest great on-court performance.
“If you don’t have a competitive edge in college basketball, college football, I don’t care what sport it is, you’re going to struggle,” Calhoun said. “That kid would give you an elbow to try to win a card game. He would give you an elbow to win a ping-pong game. He wants to win in everything he does and he wills us to a lot of wins. You saw it in Orlando when we won the MTE. He carried us. Tonight his tenacity and his next level of competitiveness I thought was incredible.”
After the lead got to a dozen points, UNLV never drew particularly close again. The rapidly increasing number of free throws throughout the half kept the Aggies from running away with the game, but the lack of made shots ensured the Rebels simply couldn’t muster a game-changing run.
Martinez and Falslev arguably dealt the finishing blow with a combined 5-0 run that put Utah State up 13 points heading into the under four media timeout. One minute later Martinez got three points the old fashioned way to put the Aggies up 14 points.
IAN AND ONE 🚨 pic.twitter.com/vg5hTZtgnE
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 14, 2025
The victory earned Utah State a rubber match with Colorado State, the hottest team in the Mountain West at this stage of the season. The Rams have won eight straight games, including a 93-66 win over the Aggies in Fort Collins on March 1. Utah State did win 93-85 in Logan (and it’s the most recent loss for Colorado State), but it’ll be a tough task to win again against a red-hot Rams team.
“Coach (Niko) Medved’s group is playing really well,” Calhoun said. “I’ve told NBA guys, you guys are crazy if you don’t take (Nique Clifford” in the first round. I think he’s that good. He’s a really, really good player. They’ve won eight in a row after tonight and they’re humming.”
Utah State and Colorado State will tip-off against each other at 10 p.m. MDT, the second leg of the Mountain West tournament semifinal. The victor will advance to play the winner of New Mexico and Boise State Saturday afternoon in the Mountain West tournament championship game.
