Utah State Basketball Overcomes Early Deficit To End Losing Streak

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Utah State basketball stormed back in the second half to end the program’s losing streak against the Colorado State Rams at Moby Arena on Friday.

MJ Collins Jr. led the way with 20 points and was the only starter to reach double figures. Karson Templin and Garry Clark each contributed 10 points off the bench.

Following two straight losses to Grand Canyon and UNLV, the Aggies will return home to Logan with another win added to the record.

DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK 🤘🔵#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/wksPrUQe1f

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 24, 2026

First Half

The first half started as one might expect. A tight-knit match between two competitive conference foes had the game tied at 21-21 with 5:33 left before the break.

Over the first 15 minutes, the Aggies looked to have returned to their previous form. The offense was balanced, with almost everyone getting involved. The defense was stifling, forcing eight turnovers and multiple shot clock violations.

Turning defense into offense pic.twitter.com/hnZqgi8fOa

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 24, 2026

The final five minutes of the half were a different story.

Colorado State started to fire on all cylinders, and Utah State simultaneously sputtered. The Rams shot 83 percent from the field during this final stretch, while the Aggies shot 25 percent with two turnovers.

This all culminated in a 14-4 run for CSU.

At the half:

Utah State – 25
Colorado State – 35#AggiesAllTheWay

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 24, 2026

Only trailing by 10 at the break was somewhat of a blessing for USU.

The Rams’ shooting splits looked like 68/55/75, and they grabbed twice as many rebounds as Utah State

But they gave up 10 turnovers compared to four from the Aggies. There was a 12-3 discrepancy in points off turnovers because of this.

Second Half

The early minutes of the second half mirrored those of the first. But with the first-half deficit looming large, Utah State couldn’t keep playing at an even pace for long.

With 13 minutes left, USU trailed 47-35. That’s when the tide turned back in favor of the road team.

The Aggies continued to claw away at the lead. And thanks to the defense staying strong, they were able to erase CSU’s advantage in about five minutes.

Elijah FOR THE LEAD‼️ pic.twitter.com/1Ir7ACiN2H

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 24, 2026

After Elijah Perryman’s lead-taking triple, Utah State didn’t look back.

Every time Colorado State made a move, they were almost instantly met with a counter from the Aggies.

Ultimately, it was Collins who came up clutch, scoring all of USU’s final six points to seal the 65-61 win.

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Utah State returns home to face the Wyoming Cowboys on Wednesday, January 28. The Spectrum homecoming tips off at 7 p.m. MT.

Find Utah State’s entire 2025-26 men’s basketball schedule here.

Listen to USU basketball games on KSL Sports Zone with Scott Garrard on the call.

Find KSL Sports coverage of Utah State University Athletics here.

Chandler Holt is a co-host of the Jazz Notes podcast, a Locals In The NFL Insider, and Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com. Follow Chandler on X for Utah Jazz and Locals In The NFL updates.

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