Utah State responded well to its first loss of the season and earned a statement win in the process.
The Aggies went into Moraga, California, on Sunday night and beat Saint Mary’s 75-68 at University Credit Union Pavilion — the victory gives Utah State an 11-1 record heading into Mountain West Conference play.
The Gaels went into the matchup ranked No. 51 in the NCAA’s NET rankings — the Aggies were No. 37 — and as long as Saint Mary’s is in the top 75 at the end of the regular season, this will be a Quad 1 road win for Utah State.
3 takeaways
Utah State got itself an early lead and established control. Five days after the Aggies lost to UC San Diego at home, Utah State went ahead early in its first true road game of the season and never relinquished the lead over the final 36 minutes of the game.
The Aggies built a 17-7 lead on the back of a 13-2 run, which included three 3-pointers from Karson Templin.
While Saint Mary’s fought back and made it a one-possession game multiple times later in the first half, Utah State ended the half on a 10-2 run to go into the break up 39-27.
The Aggies shot 53.6% in the first half and made five 3-pointers, while Saint Mary’s shot 42.3% on its home floor.
Utah State pushed that lead to as many as 17 points in the second half in beating the Gaels.
While Saint Mary’s cut the lead to six in the final minute after leading by double-digits with three minutes to play, that’s as close as the Gaels ever got in the second half.
Mason Falslev was brilliant again, leading several top individual efforts. The Aggies’ leading scorer, sophomore guard Mason Falslev, was as it again Sunday, as he finished with a team-high 18 points, with 14 of those coming in the second half.
His two free throws with 22 seconds remaining pushed the USU lead from six to eight and effectively extinguished the last hope for a rally from Saint Mary’s.
Falslev added five rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes.
Utah State had four players in double figures: Templin scored 13 on 5 of 9 shooting, Ian Martinez added 11 points, six rebounds and a team-high five assists, while Aubin Gatereste put up 10 points, four rebounds and two assists.
That countered nice efforts from the Gaels’ Mitchell Saxen (18 points, six rebounds, four assists, three steals) and Augustas Marciulionis (12 points, eight assists, two steals).
Utah State shot significantly better and controlled the paint. The Aggies ended up shooting 58.8% for the game — including 65.2% in the second half — while the Gaels shot 44.4%.
Saint Mary’s did manage to hit more 3-pointers — making 10 of 25 to 6 of 17 for the Aggies — but Utah State was more effective at the free-throw line. The Aggies made 9 of 11, while Saint Mary’s was 10 of 19.
Utah State also had 23 assists on 30 made field goals — that is the Aggies’ fifth game this season with 20-plus assists in a game.
The Gaels came into the game ranked 11th nationally in rebound margin at +10.8, but the Aggies outrebounded Saint Mary’s 31-27.
Utah State also controlled the middle, outscoring the Gaels 40-22 in points in the paint.
What’s next
The Aggies will take a few days off before starting off MWC play next weekend.
Utah State will travel to play San Diego State on Saturday, with tip time at 4 p.m. MST. The game will be televised on Fox.
The Aggies will also play on the road at Nevada on Dec. 31 before their conference home opener against Fresno State on Jan. 4.