Utah State takes down San Diego State to earn dual Mountain West titles
Mar 14, 2026, 6:30 PM | Updated: 7:55 pm
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 14: Garry Clark #11 of the Utah State Aggies reacts after a basket against the San Diego State Aztecs during the first half of the championship game of the Mountain West Conference men’s basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center on March 14, 2026 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
(Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, Nevada – The Utah State Aggies scratched and clawed their way to a regular-season and postseason Mountain West title sweep in a 73-62 win over SDSU.
No. 1 Utah State (28-6) faced No. 2 San Diego State (22-11) in the 2026 Mountain West Championship game with an automatic NCAA Tournament berth on the line.
USU exits the conference with a 3-2 record against SDSU in the MW championship game.
RELATED: Is Utah State destined for its best NCAA Tournament seed ever?
That’s it! @USUBasketball wins the @MountainWest Tournament Championship! pic.twitter.com/FxQDfE15dX
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 15, 2026
It was USU’s second win over the Aztecs this season.
Team effort leads Aggies over San Diego State in Mountain West Championship
MJ Collins Jr. gave head coach Jerrod Calhoun a terrific effort on both ends.
The senior was named tournament MVP after drilling four threes on his way to 20 points in 37 minutes. He added three steals for a tenacious Aggie defense.
Regular Season Champs ✅
Tournament Champs ✅WE. OWN. THIS. CONFERENCE. pic.twitter.com/IDVeIJ41RF
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 15, 2026
Senior forward Garry Clark stepped up when his team needed it most. He gave Utah State spectacular minutes off the bench, finishing with 11 points and six rebounds.
Clark’s ability to absorb punishment down low and dish it back was critical for his team in the closing minutes.
UTAH STATE IS GOING DANCING ONCE AGAIN 🙌
For the 4th season in a row, the Aggies are punching their ticket to #MarchMadness 🎟️ pic.twitter.com/RChD3RWaRt
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 15, 2026
MW Player of the Year Mason Falslev battled through an early ankle injury to add 16 points, four rebounds, and six assists.
Falslev’s zero turnovers helped USU finish with six turnovers as a team, tying the lowest total against an Aztec opponent all season.
Graduate senior Drake Allen’s 7-0 run out of the halftime break gave his team a sense of momentum down the stretch. Allen ended the night with 13 points, six rebounds, and three assists.
RELATED STORIES
First Half
Freshman Adlan Elamin stayed hot after scoring 15 points in a win over Nevada, draining his first shot of the day for a second-chance three.
Elamin picks up right where he left off 🫰
📺 @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/ONVutRoyZB
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 14, 2026
It was part of a 7-0 run that gave the Aggies a 9-4 advantage.
SDSU wasted no time fighting back and retaking the lead.
Utah State got a scare when Mountain West Player of the Year Mason Falslev appeared to injure his right ankle minutes into the game. Falslev was subbed out after shooting free throws, but did not leave the bench area.
Trailing by four, a 7-2 run gave USU a 20-17 lead at the under-12-minute timeout.
Aggies ON THE RUN 🌬️
📺 @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/3z56LmprRT
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 14, 2026
Intensity picked up out of the timeout, with both programs going end to end at a relentless pace.
Senior Garry Clark began playing inspired basketball, playing with force on both ends. Clark scored five quick points and blocked a shot on the other end to give his team a boost off the bench.
Garry said 𝐍𝐎𝐏𝐄#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/rOeyuG7ILG
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 14, 2026
Falslev returned later in the half with his team leading by three.
With Falslev hobbling, MJ Collins Jr. picked up the scoring load. The senior transfer drilled two threes to keep USU in front.
WHAT A FOLLOW BY MJ COLLINS 😲 @USUBasketball pic.twitter.com/eB5zY5UVvF
— CBS Sports College Basketball 🏀 (@CBSSportsCBB) March 14, 2026
The Aggies went scoreless for more than three minutes until Drake Allen found a cutting Falslev for a layup, giving the Aggies a 34-32 lead with 3:20 left in the half.
Defense and physicality took control in the final minutes of the half as both teams struggled mightily to score.
USU closed the half missing ten of its final 11 shots to trail 35-34 at the half.
Second Half
A 7-0 Drake Allen run out of the break forced SDSU to call a timeout 90 seconds into the final period.
That’s a 7⃣-0⃣ Aggie run to start the half!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/QoNai7k4e1
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 14, 2026
Scoring struggles continued for both teams into the second half.
Falslev and Allen were the only Aggies to score until MJ Collins Jr. dunked more than eight minutes in.
The back-and-forth struggle led to nine lead changes and eight ties through the first 32 minutes of play.
CLARK with his own clean up 👏
📺 @CBSSportsNet pic.twitter.com/QYvQRqUUIC
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 14, 2026
USU’s main advantage to that point was a 13-4 turnover advantage against the normally sure-handed Aztecs.
An Collins Jr. three with a little over five minutes left extended the lead to six, equalling the Aggies’ largest of the night.
Moments later, Collins Jr’s fourth three-pointer of the night gave Utah State a 61-54 lead, thanks to a nearly three-minute Aztec field goal drought.
MJ COLLINS, CERTIFIED KILLER 😵😵#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/PBKNzWi6gR
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 15, 2026
Zach Keller was fouled on the play, leading to two free throws that extended the lead to nine.
Two possessions later, Elamin soared for an easy bucket after Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year Miles Byrd collapsed with an apparent right knee injury.
Byrd eventually limped to the bench, where trainers attended to him.
𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙈𝙋𝙄𝙊𝙉𝙎 🏆 pic.twitter.com/TJXuBC3f4Q
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 15, 2026
The Aggies held on to sweep the regular season and postseason Mountain West titles with a 73-62 win.
Follow Utah State basketball with KSL Sports
The 2026 NCAA Tournament Selection Show is on Sunday, March 15, at 4 p.m. MT.
Find Utah State’s entire 2025-26 men’s basketball schedule here.
Take us with you wherever you go.
Listen to USU basketball games on KSL Sports Zone with Scott Garrard and former Aggie great Spencer Nelson on the call.
Find KSL Sports coverage of Utah State University Athletics here.
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.
