Utah State Men’s Hoops Vanquishes VCU In Neutral-Site Game
Nov 7, 2025, 9:52 PM
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - JANUARY 15: Karson Templin #22 of the Utah State Aggies gestures after hitting a 3-pointer against the UNLV Rebels in the first half of their game at the Thomas & Mack Center on January 15, 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
FRISCO, Texas – The Utah State Aggies withstood a second-half surge before holding on for an 80-77 win over VCU to stay undefeated.
The Utah State Aggies (2-0) took on the VCU Rams 1-1) in a neutral-site matchup in Frisco, Texas, on Friday, November 7. It was the program’s first win over VCU.
Everything's bigger in Texas…including the 𝓦's#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/Csp5qGhNdj
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 8, 2025
MJ Collins led USU in scoring for the second straight game. He finished with a game-high 22 points on 8-of-15 shooting with a pair of threes.
Returning junior guard Mason Falslev knocked down three triples on his way to 18 points. He added four rebounds and three steals in an all-around effort.
Garry Clark provided another boost off the bench, finishing with 11 points and 14 rebounds. His late offensive rebound and putback helped lift the Aggies to the victory in a second consecutive double-double.
“We got em, baby! “ – @mason_falslev #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/4CHbbqrQ2K
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 8, 2025
Graduate senior point guard Drake Allen finished with a career-high six steals, adding seven points and a team-high nine assists. Utah State had 14 steals as a team, tying for the seventh-most in a single game in program history.
First Half
Utah State’s offense looked spectacular in the opening 20 minutes as it continued to gel early in the season.
USU shot 59 percent in the first half, but struggled defensively, allowing the Rams to hit half of their looks. The Aggies made 5-of-8 threes (63 percent) compared to a respectable 6-of-14 (40 percent) for VCU.
Back-to-back downhill buckets for MJ 💨#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/fru0oadGA5
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 8, 2025
Utah State used 18 points off of 11 Ram turnovers to build a nine-point halftime advantage. The Aggies led by as much as 15 in the opening half while trailing by no more than three.
Rams forward Jadrian Tracy led all scorers with 15 first-half points, followed by 14 points from MJ Collins.
Second Half
The Aggies came out of the break with a surge, extending their advantage to 64-46 with 11:28 left after Falslev made a driving layup.
An 8-0 VCU run in less than two minutes cut the lead to ten.
First bucket in an Aggie uniform for Zach Keller 🔥#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/qymxOCi9k9
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 8, 2025
USU held the Rams at bay for several minutes, maintaining a double-digit lead until the closing three minutes when VCU went on another run.
Trailing 75-64 with 3:26 left, VCU scored eight straight points to make it a one-point game. The Rams would tie the game at 76 with 34 seconds left.
Out of the ensuing timeout, Collins missed a three, but Garry Clark rebounded the miss and put it back in for a two-point Aggie lead.
GARRY. CLARK. 🥶🥶🥶#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/RF93Z5raP3
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 8, 2025
The teams traded free throws in the final seconds until Karson Templin sealed the win with a final-second steal.
USU held on for the 80-77 win.
Following Utah State men’s basketball with KSL Sports
Utah State returns to the Beehive State for an in-state battle with the Weber State Wildcats in Logan. The Wildcats and Aggies tip off at 7 p.m. MT on Wednesday, November 12.
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.
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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.
