No. 23 Utah State Pulls Away From Nevada With Late Surge
Jan 14, 2026, 10:34 PM | Updated: Jan 15, 2026, 2:42 pm
Utah State guard Mason Falslev helped lead USU to its fifth-straight Mountain West win by beating the NEvada Wolfpack at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Wednesday, January 14. (Photo courtesy of USU Athletics, Arpan Bose)
(Photo courtesy of USU Athletics, Arpan Bose)
LOGAN, Utah – The No. 23 Utah State Aggies got punched in the face, but overcame a difficult Nevada team with spectacular defense in a 71-62 win.
USU’s defense ended the night with nine steals and eight blocks while holding the Wolfpack to 34 percent shooting.
The Aggies (15-1, 6-0 MW) welcomed the Nevada Wolfpack (12-5, 4-2 MW) into the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum for a showdown between two of the Mountain West’s top teams.
RELATED: BYU Drops, Utah State Jumps In To AP Top 25 Basketball Rankings
𝐘𝐄𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐒 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐄𝐀𝐌!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/hUj5wiEi77
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 15, 2026
USU began the day tied with San Diego State as the only unbeaten teams remaining in the Mountain West.
Mason Falslev made 9-of-14 shots for 26 points. He added five rebounds, three assists, and two steals in 39 minutes.
MJ Collins Jr., the MW’s leading scorer, finished with 14 points on an uncharacteristically poor shooting night.
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First Half
Mason Falslev opened 3-for-3, staking the Aggies to a 7-2 lead less than two minutes in.
Mason's wasting no time! He's got the first five points for the Aggies#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/UAUZU3tLFE
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 15, 2026
On the other end, Adlan Elamin used his length to give the Wolfpack fits. The true freshman guard blocked three shots in the paint, negating multiple fast break chances for the visitors.
The Wolfpack missed nine of ten attempts at one point as they struggled mightily against USU’s smothering defense.
Nevada’s third leading-scorer and top rebounder, Elijah Price, was forced to the bench less than five minutes in after picking up his second foul.
The Aggies’ hot defensive start didn’t translate to the offensive end, thanks to four turnovers in the opening eight minutes.
Nevada battled back to take its first lead, 14-13, on a Corey Camper Jr. corner three.
Both programs battled back-and-forth as the defenses took control. Utah State led 25-23 with 3:56 left in the half.
MJ's got the Spectrum 𝙍𝙊𝘾𝙆𝙄𝙉𝙂#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/xd0Ydi1JjX
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 15, 2026
A 7-0 run to end the half allowed USU to take a 29-23 lead into the break.
Falslev’s nine points led all scorers, followed by seven from MJ Collins Jr.
Utah State blocked seven shots as a team in the opening 20 minutes. Elamin and Karson Templin each swatted three shots.
Second Half
Zach Keller scored the first two points of the half before Nevada went on a quick 11-0 run to grab a 34-31 lead.
In need of a boost, Falslev powered his way to the hoop for back-to-back fast break layups, igniting the sold-out Spectrum and giving USU a 40-38 lead.
Two buckets in 15 seconds for The Mayor#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/9P6Y1oivsh
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 15, 2026
The Wolfpack knocked down four of five from three to open the half.
USU’s defense keyed in, pressuring Nevada into a more than three-minute scoring drought that allowed the Aggies to turn a two-point deficit into a 50-44 lead with 9:35 left.
KT ➡️ EP#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/HkwqSxzkQZ
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 15, 2026
The field goal drought for Nevada extended past five minutes, but Utah State couldn’t take full advantage. The Aggies missed eight of ten shots over the same period to maintain a six-point advantage.
The Zach Keller tap-out leads to an MJ 3 🔥
10-0 Aggie run#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/JYWJNlZrZ3
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 15, 2026
The drought ended after 5:52 when Price powered his way to the bucket for an old-fashioned three-point play.
Minutes later, Elamin and Falslev combined for two transition buckets, building a 61-51 lead and forcing a Nevada timeout to try and stem the onslaught.
𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗣𝗢𝗜𝗡𝗧 𝗚𝗔𝗠𝗘 🙌#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/3hy5acPFx0
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 15, 2026
Nevada entered the double-bonus on Templin’s fourth foul with just under three minutes to play.
Moments later, Falslev gave USU a 65-57 lead when he snuck underneath Elijah Price before knocking the ball loose under the Aggies’ basket. The Benson, Utah, native collected the loose ball and dropped it through the net.
𝘗𝘪𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘵#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/OKVzq1lnvu
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 15, 2026
The takeaway was the 164th in Falslev’s career, tying Kendall Youngblood for the most steals in program history.
USU pulled away down the stretch for a 71-62 win.
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Utah State travels to Arizona for its first-ever Mountain West game against the Grand Canyon Antelopes. Tip-off on Saturday, January 17, is at 12:30 p.m. MT.
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