Falslev Scores Career-High To Lead No. 22 Utah State Past Boise State
Feb 10, 2024, 10:05 PM | Updated: Feb 12, 2024, 1:33 pm
LOGAN, Utah – It’s fitting that Mason Falslev, a kid who grew up watching Stew Morrill-led teams, notched his career-high on the same night the Aggies honored the program’s all-time wins and games-coached leader. USU led nearly the entire night, picking up its 20th win of the season, beating the Boise State Broncos 80-61.
No. 22 Utah State (20-4, 8-3) sweeps the season series with Boise State (16-8, 7-4) thanks to the 19-point win.
𝐒𝐖𝐄𝐏𝐓 𝐄𝐌🤘#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/ixTw9whCvt
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 11, 2024
The freshman Falslev made ten of 12 shots, finishing with 25 points to top the 20-point plateau for the first time in his young career. Darius Brown II checked out with 18 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. Isaac Johnson scored 14 points while Great Osobor had an uncharacteristically quiet evening, finishing with ten points and ten rebounds.
Tyson Degenhart scored 17 points to lead the Broncos in a losing effort.
First Half
Mason Falslev’s second-chance three-point play opened the scoring on the game’s first possession. The freshman guard from Benson, Utah, scored eight of the Aggies’ first ten points.
Mason starting things off 💪
⚡️ @mason_falslev #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/MF3o9ma9fq
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 11, 2024
After an action-packed opening three minutes, both defenses began to settle in, putting scoring chances at a premium. Utah State went scoreless for over three minutes while the Broncos missed four straight shots.
Nope 🖐️
⚡️ @GreatOsobor #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/IgWHTlvfEr
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 11, 2024
RELATED: USU To Honor Morrill’s Legacy With Spectrum Court Naming
Free throws and a corner three from Falslev ended the Aggie drought as they took a 16-13 lead. Moments later, Ian Martinez’s first three of the night extended the advantage to six with 11:34 left in the half.
IAN 👌
⚡️ @IanJumaine #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/35Ms71h2sw
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 11, 2024
USU used a 13-0 run to turn a 13-10 deficit into a 23-13 lead as the Spectrum faithful exploded. Boise State looked entirely out of rhythm, missing 15 of 17 shots at one point in the half.
Mason Falslev: 13 points
Boise State: 13 points⚡️ @mason_falslev #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/d5jKykquXf
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 11, 2024
The Aggie offense kept rolling, making four straight looks to increase the lead to 39-27 with two minutes to play in the half.
Josh Uduje closed the half in style, blocking a Broncos shot at the hoop to give USU a 41-30 lead at the break.
Good guys lead by 11 at the half!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/rBR31FStDb
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 11, 2024
Mason Falslev was the only player to reach double-figures in the half, making six of eight shots for 15 points. Utah State shot 46.7 percent as a team while limiting the Broncos to an anemic 29 percent in the opening half.
Second Half
Whistles prevented the second half from starting with any rhythm. Ragged play and a lengthy review less than a minute into the half kept the Spectrum crowd quiet.
Needing a spark, Darius Brown II drew an offensive foul, leading to a technical against Boise State coach Leon Rice. After Martinez made both freebies, Falslev got to the hoop for a contested layup that made it 49-34 Utah State.
MASON FALSLEV 👏
⚡️ @mason_falslev #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/FvoKuddPd7
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 11, 2024
USU took a 12-point lead into the under-16 media timeout.
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The Broncos made six of twelve shots to open the half, doing just enough to stay within striking distance. Back-to-back threes from Brown II and Isaac Johnson extended the lead to 61-45 with 10:13 to play.
Johnson’s second three of the half gave the Aggies their largest lead of the night at 17.
Raise your hands if you love Splash Valley 🖐️
⚡️ @Isaac_Johnson33 #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/3MyxtKjwHP
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 11, 2024
The Aggies would hold on for their 20th win of the year, besting the Broncos 80-61.
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No. 22 Utah State heads to Laramie, Wyoming, for a Valentine’s Day date with the Wyoming Cowboys (12-11, 5-5). Tip-off is at 8 p.m. (MT ) on Wednesday, February 14. USU blew out the Cowboys 83-59 on January 9.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering the Utah State Aggies, Locals in MLB, and Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees, Beehive baseball, and Aggie athletics coverage here.
