A breakout night for Kingston Tosi, a fast start for the Ben Jacobson era at Utah State
Nov 3, 2026, 5:18 PM
LOGAN – Utah State’s offense needed time to get going against Idaho State. Its defense gave the Aggies that opportunity.
Then Kingston Tosi and a faster, more physical second-half attack helped turn a competitive game into a comfortable win.
Utah State opened the Ben Jacobson era with a 94-58 victory Monday at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, providing both an encouraging starting point and a list of improvements to make before hosting Omaha on Saturday.
RELATED: Takeaways from Utah State basketball’s win over Idaho State
First of many 𝐃𝐔𝐁𝐒 for Coach Jake!
#ShowMe | #AggiesAllTheWay https://t.co/0Au3zIEXOp
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 3, 2026
For Jacobson, the most important takeaway wasn’t simply that the Aggies eventually found their scoring touch. It was how they stayed in control while the offense struggled to match the rhythm it had established during three exhibition games.
“Just proud of them for defending,” Jacobson said. “And then the second half really rebounded the ball and just buying enough time for us to catch, you know, catch our stride offensively.”
That stride arrived emphatically. Utah State made 10 consecutive field goals during one second-half stretch and finished shooting 58.1% from the field, including 24 of 34 after halftime. The Aggies scored 60 points in the paint.
Tosi helped lead the charge, finishing with 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting, five rebounds and three steals in 28 minutes off the bench.
“We just got it going,” Tosi said. “We had the momentum, and we just kept attacking. I think we sped it up a lot in the second half. And we’ve been practicing fast, and when we start playing fast in the game, it’s hard to keep up with.”
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Kingston Tosi makes the most of his opportunity
For Tosi, the performance meant more than the numbers in a box score.
After spending last season watching from the sidelines during a redshirt year, he finally had an opportunity to contribute in front of the HURD.
“Surreal,” Tosi said. “I’ve been watching from the sidelines for the past year, and every time it’s like, man, I can’t wait to get out there.”
Kingston went 𝐎𝐅𝐅 in his college debut last night 🚀 https://t.co/wcwVDe2ci8
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 3, 2026
His approach against Idaho State was straightforward: Keep moving, stay aggressive, and take advantage of teammates willing to share the ball.
“Cutting — that was a big emphasis on this game,” Tosi said. “Cutting and just staying aggressive. My teammates were finding me, and I was looking to get to the rim.”
Those opportunities fit the style Jacobson wants Utah State to establish. Attacking, he explained, isn’t limited to pushing the ball after a defensive rebound. It includes half-court possessions and pursuing extra opportunities on the offensive glass.
“Every opportunity we have to attack, we want to be doing it,” Jacobson said.
𝓹𝓸𝓮𝓽𝓻𝔂 𝓲𝓷 𝓶𝓸𝓽𝓲𝓸𝓷 https://t.co/GZAJZVjtSy
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 3, 2026
Tosi also emphasized that his job extends beyond scoring.
“Just impacting the game any way I can,” he said. “Being physical, playing defense, the little details that we work on in scout and practice, keeping those things in mind and executing them on the floor.”
As Mason Falslev dealt with foul trouble, the Aggies leaned on their depth. Tosi said the team’s expectations don’t change with the lineup.
“No matter what group we put out there, we got guys who want to compete,” he said. “Guys who want to play hard. And we play together.”
Rebounding remains a priority
The second-half improvement didn’t erase Jacobson’s concerns about the opportunities Utah State allowed the Bengals to create.
USU surrendered 11 offensive rebounds and committed 14 turnovers, two areas that will need attention as the season progresses.
“If you’re going to give up offensive rebounds and you’re going to put yourself in tough situations, you’re playing with fire,” Jacobson said. “So we need to clean that up.”
Solo makes it look easy 🙌 https://t.co/Kv7UQyzzEo
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 3, 2026
Tosi said the Aggies addressed their rebounding at halftime after Idaho State imposed its will on the boards during the first half.
“We made sure at halftime that we’re not going to let that happen anymore,” Tosi said. “And we got to secure these boards to get a bigger lead.”
That adjustment helped Utah State play the way it wanted offensively. Securing rebounds created opportunities to run, and Tosi said having multiple players who can push the ball makes that style enjoyable.
“Coach loves to see us play fast. We love to play fast,” he said. “And it opens up a lot of opportunities for everyone on the floor.”
Adjusting without Connor Turnbull before Omaha
Utah State’s preparation for Omaha will also involve getting more comfortable without Connor Turnbull.
The center was unavailable against Idaho State, and Jacobson said the short notice—roughly 36 hours before the game—left little time to adjust.
Jacobson pointed to Turnbull’s passing, size, length, rebounding, and shot-blocking as qualities the Aggies will miss.
“There’s a number of things that he does that we don’t also have in somebody else on the roster,” Jacobson said.
The coach did not provide a definitive return date, expressing hope that Turnbull’s absence would be relatively short.
“Hopefully it’s shorter term, in the way of two to three weeks, and not a longer-term deal,” Jacobson said.
Managing those rotation adjustments will shape the practices leading into Saturday’s matchup. Utah State hosts Omaha at 2 p.m. in the Spectrum.
The Mavericks opened their season with a 73-65 win over Mid-America Christian and are scheduled to visit BYU on Friday before traveling to Logan for the second game of a back-to-back.
For Jacobson, the focus is less on determining Utah State’s ceiling after one game than identifying what the opener revealed and making the necessary corrections.
“What did we learn? How can we correct a couple of things? What do we need to get better at?” he pondered.
He will also get another opportunity to coach in a home atmosphere that left an impression Monday.
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“I thought our crowd, our season ticket holders and others who bought the single-game tickets, I thought they were terrific,” Jacobson said.
Having coached in plenty of other arenas, he said the Spectrum stood out.
“I haven’t seen anything like this,” Jacobson said. “It’s a special place. I can’t wait for what else is coming.”
Tosi’s attention, meanwhile, is already shifting from a memorable debut to the next opportunity.
“It’s always on to the next game,” he said. “You can’t dwell on a good game. You can’t dwell on a bad game.”
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Utah State hosts the Omaha Mavericks at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday, November 7. Tip-off is at 2 p.m. MT.
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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.
Parts of this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team.
