Late Surge Lifts Utah State Past Grand Canyon In Thriller
Feb 28, 2026, 10:25 PM | Updated: Mar 2, 2026, 11:52 am
Utah State senior guard Drake Allen throws down a vicious slam on Grand Canyon seven-footer Efe Demirel at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday, February 28, 2026. (USU Athletics, Eileen Woodings)
(USU Athletics, Eileen Woodings)
LOGAN, Utah – Utah State controlled the first half and hung on in the second to secure a season split with the Grand Canyon Antelopes, earning a 74-69 win.
The Aggies (24-5, 14-4 T-1st in MW) hosted the Antelopes (18-11, 11-7 T-4th in MW) at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday, February 28.
USU began the day tied atop the Mountain West Conference with the San Diego State Aztecs. GCU is deadlocked with Nevada.
𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐋𝐄𝐃 𝐔𝐏 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐔𝐁!#ShowMe x #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/itaw1BHOv5
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 1, 2026
Drake Allen and Karson Templin each scored 15 points to lead the Aggies.
Mason Falslev added 11 points, nine rebounds, and four assists to go with a block and a steal.
MJ Collins Jr. scored ten of his 13 points in the second half.
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First Half
Utah State continued its theme-heavy season for its famed Hurd student body, going battle cattle for its matchup with the Lopes.
Best t-shirt layout of the season in college hoops.
This cannot be argued. @kslsports @USUBasketball pic.twitter.com/VMhMPvd0GA
— Scott Garrard (@ScottyGZone) March 1, 2026
Drake Allen started the scoring for the home team by knocking down back-to-back quick threes.
Karson Templin followed with two three-pointers of his own to give the Aggies a 12-5 lead four minutes in.
Oh it’s 𝓇𝒶𝒾𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔 tonight ☔️#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/kihuuR0XhM
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 1, 2026
In a far cry from USU’s shooting struggles in Phoenix earlier this season, the Aggies hit seven of their first ten looks from deep to grab the advantage.
A 10-0 run put GCU in a 22-10 deficit early and got the Spectrum crowd immediately into the game.
Grand Canyon couldn’t buy a basket from beyond the arc, falling into a deep hole.
Oh, you thought we were going to miss tonight?#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/pSFYqzVe1z
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 1, 2026
Utah State’s momentum continued to grow after dunks from center Zach Keller and Allen.
Midway through the half, Allen drove through the paint and elevated for a one-handed posterizing slam on 7’1″ freshman Efe Demirel, sending the Spectrum crowd into a frenzy.
DRAKE THAT MAN HAS A FAMILY 😵#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/tr5jaViMQ1
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 1, 2026
USU scored 10 points off of eight Lopes turnovers to lead 41-27 at the half.
Grand Canyon shot just 40 percent (10-of-25) in the opening 20 minutes. GCU missed their final five shots and six of the last seven shots while going scoreless for nearly four minutes.
Second Half
Five quick visitor points cut the lead to nine coming out of the break.
Grand Canyon looked renewed offensively as they got multiple easy baskets against a normally stingy Aggie defense.
Utah State struggled to regain its earlier momentum, taking a 51-46 lead into the under-12-minute timeout.
🪽🪽🪽#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/95SVX0RhFE
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 1, 2026
Grand Canyon outscored the Aggies 21-10 in the first ten minutes of the second half.
USU went scoreless for more than four minutes before Collins Jr. got to the bucket to give his team a 53-50 advantage with nine minutes left.
A three-pointer gave GCU a 59-58 lead with under five minutes left. It was their first lead since 5-3 90 seconds into the game.
Moments later, a Kolby King three-pointer electrified the Hurd and gave Utah State a 65-59 lead and forced an Antelopes timeout with 2:46 to play.
KOLBY KING FIRE US UP 🔥🔥🔥#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/desvi4B6Tf
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 1, 2026
Leading by two, Collins Jr. worked himself free in the corned a drilled a three to give the Aggies a 7-65 lead with 33.6 seconds left.
USU held on to win 74-69 and maintain a share of first in the Mountain West.
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Utah State travels south to face the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels on Tuesday, March 3. The regular season’s penultimate game tips off at 9 p.m. MT.
Find Utah State’s entire 2025-26 men’s basketball schedule here.
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Brian Preece is a sports.ksl.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brian’s Bees and Beehive baseball here. Find Brian on X, Instagram, and BlueSky at @bpreece24.
