LAS VEGAS — It took three tries, but Utah State finally got a win over the pesky UNLV Rebels, downing them 80-60 in Thursday’s quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Tournament.
The win was a long time coming, but Utah State wasn’t going to let another opportunity to assert some level of dominance in this series go to waste.
“We knew that this was our last chance,” USU guard MJ Collins said. “There’s a saying that it’s hard to beat a team three times. We were just on the edge all week. We knew what it meant for, not only us, but the coaches, too.”
Mountain West Player of the Year Mason Falslev and Collins, his Second Team All-MW teammate, each scored 20-plus points. Falslev came up just shy of his third double-double of the season with 24 points, nine rebounds plus three assists and three steals. Collins tallied 20 exactly, adding three rebounds, four assists and three steals of his own. Having their two stars lead from the front made things much easier for the Aggies all afternoon.
“When we have it going or one has it going, it takes pressure off of not only the other person, but the whole team,” Collins said. “When we just piggyback off of each other and it puts everybody else in place, it takes pressure off of everybody.”
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, the chief competition to Falslev for the conference’s MVP award, went 6 of 17 from the field for 17 points, eight of which came in the final three minutes when the game was long out of reach.
The Aggies took control of the game with a big run to end the half. UNLV led 16-13 with 9:25 left in the opening half but by halftime Utah State had built a 37-23 lead. That included a 14-2 run to close out the opening act. A not-insignificant factor in USU having extra energy and momentum came from playing in front of a sizable contingent of The HURD. The Aggies’ famed student section filled two sections of the lower bowl behind one of the baskets and made the Thomas & Mack Center feel like home.
“It feels like the Spectrum. It really does,” Utah State point guard Drake Allen said. “When you get out there, you hear the boos, you hear the cheers. When they start doing the Scotsman, you know it’s game time. We’re very grateful. We’re very blessed to have fans that travel. I think that every game this week is going to be a home game for us.”
Flipping the script against UNLV required the Aggies to do a number of things differently. A lot of those were on defense. One area in particular was how to slow down the Rebels’ 6-foot-7 wing Kimani Hamilton. His ability to manufacture quality shots from post-ups was a matchup issue for most teams and the Aggies were little exception. Hamilton scored 24 points against Utah State in the last meeting and he had 23 points in UNLV’s first-round win over Wyoming.
The Aggies found an answer, throwing double teams at Hamilton whenever he fought his way into the paint.
“We trapped the post more than we ever had,” Aggies head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “We did a reat job of scrambling out of those traps.”
Hamilton struggled on the court and even during breaks in the action. He picked up a flagrant foul and a technical, both of which contributed to him fouling out with nine minutes left in the second half. He ended the game with only 11 points despite shooting an efficient 4-for-6 from the field and going 2-for-4 on 3-pointers.
Another way the Aggies disrupted UNLV’s offense was through turnovers. They accumulated 12 steals which contributed to 19 total UNLV turnovers. Gibbs-Lawhorn had six of those turnovers himself. Howie Fleming Jr., who had a triple-double against the Aggies back on March 3, had three turnovers to just one assist.
“Team’s that like to drive the ball, we’ve got to stay in front. We’ve got to show our hands,” Allen said. “Defense is about five guys. It’s not about one guy guarding the ball. It’s not about two. It’s about all five guys that guard the ball.”
“Any time you can turn a team over 19 times, your defense is clicking on all cylinders,” Calhoun said. “Probably where I’m most proud is the foul discipline. We talked about foul discipline. They only shot 15 free throws. (UNLV) is a team that likes to get the ball to the paint. Likes to draw fouls. So I thought our ability to play with our chest today was really, really critical.”
As important as turnovers were (and always are) critical to getting consistent stops on defense, the turnovers were an incredible boon to Utah State’s offense, with 23 of their points coming directly off those UNLV giveaways. But even in halfcourt sets, the Aggies found success. Falslev and Collins combining for 44 points certainly helped in that regard, but it was far from just them. Utah State scored 40 points in the paint, with contributions in that regard coming from Karson Templin (eight points) and Garry Clark (seven points).
Clark’s contributions were highlighted by Calhoun after the game. The 6-foot-8 forward has been up-and-down at times this year, but Calhoun knew he needed an up game from the senior.
“Garry woke up in a bad mood. Garry was great, and I hope he wakes up in another bad mood,” Calhoun said. “I’ve just been telling him, ‘Listen, we’re going to get you 15, 20 minutes. We need you to produce. We don’t need you to go get 15, 20 points. We need you to battle on the glass, be good at your pick and roll coverages, understand game plans.’ And he was tremendous tonight. I liked it. He didn’t back down.”
In the end, the points in the paint advantage in favor of Utah State (40 points to just 26 for the Rebels) was what Calhoun called “the biggest stat” of the game, especially compared to the previous unsuccessful games against UNLV.
Utah State will now turn its focus to the semifinal game. The Aggies will await the winner of Nevada and Grand Canyon. As of publishing time, that game is ongoing. Whoever USU faces, the game will start at 7:30 p.m. Mountain Time.
