Steady Utah State Kennels Bulldogs In Road Win
Dec 30, 2025, 9:43 PM | Updated: Dec 31, 2025, 5:32 pm
Utah State guard Mason Falslev glides to the basket for two points in a 72-63 Aggie win against Fresno State at Save Mart Center on Tuesday, December 30. (Courtesy of USU Athletics)
(Courtesy of USU Athletics)
FRESNO, California – Utah State had to generate its own post-Christmas energy to take down the host Fresno State Bulldogs 72-63 in a pre-New Year’s Eve slog on Tuesday night.
The Aggies (11-1, 2-0 MW) returned from a holiday break with their first Mountain West road game of the season by taking on the Bulldogs (6-7, 0-2 MW) at Save Mart Center on Tuesday, December 30.
Closing out 2025 with a dub 🎇#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/9AGkwHUFDb
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 31, 2025
MJ Collins, the Mountain West’s leading scorer, scored 18 points to lead the Aggies despite not hitting a three.
Mason Falslev finished with 16 points, eight rebounds, and four steals in a game-high 39 minutes.
Kolby King’s 13 points led a USU bench that out-scored the Bulldogs 29-12.
First Half
Fresno State jumped out to a 6-4 lead before the first media timeout.
Back-to-back threes from Kolby King and Elijah Perryman helped the Aggies burst to a 14-8 lead with 12:39 left.
Wiiiiiide open in the corner #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/xznivC3HTJ
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 31, 2025
Utah State’s balanced attack was reflected when six different players scored the team’s first six buckets.
MJ Collins Jr. became the first Aggie with two field goals when his fast-break layup gave USU an 18-11 lead with less than 10 minutes left in the half.
Third steal of the first half for The Mayor#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/IWHbkoEXyR
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 31, 2025
The lead grew to nine when Collins Jr. splashed a deep two.
Utah State’s pressure defense helped create nine steals in the first 15 minutes. Mason Falslev led the group with three takeaways.
🥶🥶🥶#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/3HYlBYHbfk
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 31, 2025
Collins Jr. was the only double-digit scorer for either team, finishing with ten points on 5-of-11 shooting.
Falslev added seven points on two made field goals. Kolby King came off the bench for six points in nine minutes.
In control at the break!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/EivLxAbGkh
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 31, 2025
Fresno went scoreless in the final two minutes of the half, trailing 35-26 at the break.
Second Half
Falslev’s second triple gave the Aggies their largest lead of the night at 46-33 heading into the first media timeout.
The block, the board, the bucket@mason_falslev does it all!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/XRrfkshGnY
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 31, 2025
USU’s defense forced another long scoreless stretch for the Bulldogs, allowing the Aggies to build a 12-point advantage nine minutes into the half.
EP hit the gas ⛽️#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/GQp6xUmAmq
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 31, 2025
A more than five-minute field goal-less streak kept Fresno State from closing the gap despite the Aggies not being able to pull away.
Collins Jr. floated home a paint shot to give USU a 66-57 lead with 2:22 left.
The Bulldogs cut the deficit to seven after center Wilson Jacques dropped back-to-back post shots.
Utah State held on down the stretch for a 72-63 win.
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The Aggies return home for a 2 p.m. MT tilt against the San José State Spartans (5-7, 0-1 MW) on Saturday, January 3.
Find Utah State’s entire 2025-26 men’s basketball schedule 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.
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