Utah State Basketball Blasts Tulane In Shriners Children’s Classic
Nov 21, 2025, 1:10 PM | Updated: 3:29 pm
CHARLESTON, South Carolina – Utah State basketball relied on dynamite second-half defense to pull away from Tulane for a 96-75 victory. The 21-point win is USU’s fourth double-digit win in five games.
The Aggies (5-0) took on the Tulane Green Wave (3-2) in the first of two games this weekend at the Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic on Friday, November 21.
On to the @ESPNCharleston title game 🤘#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/D8qg76sydM
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 21, 2025
Mason Falslev stuffed the stat sheet with a game-high 24 points, seven rebounds, and four steals while making 11-of-15 shots.
MJ Collins added 21 points on 7-of-10 from the field and three of six from deep, while dishing out five assists in 33 minutes.
Drake Allen returned to the lineup after missing the UTEP game with a high ankle sprain. The former Westlake Thunder guard was perfect from the field, scoring just seven points, but added a team-high eight assists and three steals.
First Half
An active Utah State defense harassed Tulane into three open-court turnovers in the opening minutes. The pressure allowed USU to build a 12-6 lead before the first timeout.
MJ throws it down in the home state 🌴#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/fXY7JVVbzN
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 21, 2025
The tables turned later in the half, with Tulane’s defense forcing five Aggie turnovers to kickstart an 11-0 run that gave the Green Wave a 23-17 lead.
Both programs continued trading runs throughout the half.
That's the 𝗙𝗜𝗙𝗧𝗛 Aggie steal of the half #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/OVilUZusoz
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 21, 2025
USU dominated in the paint, outscoring Tulane 30-6 near the basket. The Green Wave used the deep ball to keep the game close.
Utah State missed seven of nine three-point attempts, while the Green Wave knocked down 7-of-17 (41 percent) from beyond the arc.
The Aggies needed a 6-0 run to force a 40-40 halftime tie.
Second Half
Utah State shot out of the halftime blocks, making eight straight shots at one point to build its largest lead of the day. A 13-2 run over nearly four minutes put the Aggies up 66-52.
Drake from downtown#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/DjdaAqEmqu
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 21, 2025
The advantage ballooned to 18 when freshman Elijah Perryman forced a steal, leading to a Mason Falslev layup.
The bucket gave the Cache Valley native a game-high 24 points with more than nine minutes left to play. Falslev started the half with a pair of threes while making four of his first five shots.
2⃣2⃣ points in 2⃣2⃣ minutes for The Mayor#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/evEUDKvNsl
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 21, 2025
The Aggies pulled away down the stretch for a 96-75 win.
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Utah State will play Steph Curry’s alma mater, the Davidson Wildcats, on Sunday, November 23. Tip-off will be at 7 p.m. MT. The Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic is being broadcast on ESPN2.
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.