Top-seeded Utah State throttles UNLV to advance at Mountain West Tournament

LAS VEGAS (KSL.com) — A third meeting with UNLV was the charm for the Aggies Thursday afternoon.

The Utah State men’s basketball team avenged two earlier losses to the Rebels this season and blew by them, 80-60, in the first quarterfinal game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center. The top-seeded Aggies used a surge just before halftime to get in front for good.

“I thought it was just a really good team effort by us on the defensive end,” USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “We turned them over 19 times. You know, we had a game plan. I thought (Associate Head) Coach (Eric) Haut and (Assistant) Coach (Johnny) Hill did a tremendous job over the last couple of days of putting the game plan together, so really proud of the guys. … I thought the end of the first half was the changing point, and then obviously the second half we played really well.”

USU (26-6) had lost just over a week ago on the same court, suffering its worst setback of the season, 92-65. There were some things said after that game, and the Aggies took it to heart.

“There’s a saying: It’s hard to beat a tea three times,” said Collins, who finished with 20 points, four assists and three steals. “We were on edge all week. … We just took the last game, they (Rebels) said some things. We took it disrespectfully, and we used that as an edge today, and you seen the outcome.”

The eighth-seeded Rebels (17-16) may have swept the Aggies during the regular season, but it was a different story Thursday.

“Game plan was to not settle, go anthem, and get into the paint and just make the right plays,” said USU guard Mason Falslev, who flirted with a double-double, finishing with game highs in points (24) and rebounds (9). “I mean, it wasn’t anything crazy. I just tried to make the right plays when I could.”

UNLV got within 11 with eight minutes to play, but USU responded with a 13-1 run that stretched over four-and-a-half minutes of game time. A pair of free throws by MJ Collins Jr. brought out the “Up By 20-1” chant from the Aggie students, who outnumbered the home team by a large margin. Collins turned a steal into a dunk to give USU it’s largest lead of the game, 73-50, with 3:37 to play.

Playing in front of so many Aggie fans made it feel like a home game for USU.

“We knew what it meant for not only us, but the coaches too and the community,” Collins said. “As you see, our fans travel well. That was a great advantage for us.”

“It should be a home field advantage right here in Las Vegas, and you look out there, and there’s a lot of Aggie blue and the chants and the noise,” Falslev said. “Energy is contagious, so it definitely helps.”

Falslev and Collins were the lone players to reach double figures in scoring. However, USU got contributions from nine Aggies in the scoring column. All 12 players saw at least 1:40 minutes of action.

Forward Karson Templin finished with eight points and five rebounds off the bench for USU. Garry Clark also contributed from the bench with seven points and six rebounds. Guard Kolby King had seven points, also off the bench.

Rebel guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, who leads the MW in scoring, finished with a team-high 17 points, with eight of those coming in the final minutes. Kimani Hamilton, who fouled out with 9:22 to play, and Walter Brown each added 11 points. Tyrin Jones grabbed nine boards for UNLV.

“I’m not a big believer in the three-game deal,” Rebel head coach Josh Pastner said. “I’m a big believer that every game is unique. It’s its own identity. We played really well against them the first two times. They were the tougher team today. The first two times we were the tougher team. To beat Utah State, you got to have toughness. The first two times we were more tougher than Utah State, without question. It wasn’t even a debate. They were tougher today.”

There were four technicals called in the game — two on each team — and a flagrant foul on the Rebels.

“It’s a physical game. It’s an emotional game,” said USU guard Drake Allen, who had six points and a game-high five assists. “I think we all knew it was going to be a tough game physically. Sometimes, you know, you get riled up, but I’m proud of our guys the way we responded. I think you get a couple of technicals, but I think most of ours were for backing up our guys. We’re not going to take any disrespect, and it showed.”

Another key for the Aggies was turning 19 Rebel turnovers into 23 points, while also giving up just three points on 13 turnovers.

“It’s a testament to our defense,” Allen said. “That’s something we’ve worked on. We have to get better in transition defense when we miss shots and when we turn the ball over. We have to get back, build walls, and I think we did a pretty good job of that tonight.

“… Defense is about five guys. Not about one guy guarding the ball. It’s not about two. It’s about all five guys got to guard the ball. We have to load up. We’ve got to stay in front of the ball. But like I said, it’s team defense. That’s why our defense is good. All five of us are locked in and makes us a lot better when we guard that way.”

The Rebels scored first after both teams missed their opening shots to begin the game. Falslev answered with the first five Aggie points to put the top seed in front.

UNLV held USU to one field goal over a four-minute span and was able to outscore the Aggies 9-2 to take an 11-7 lead at the 13:29 mark of the opening half. After four lead changes, the Rebels stayed in front for five-and-a-half minutes.

Adlan Elamin drilled a 3-pointer off a pass from Collins to trigger a 8-0 spurt by the Aggies. Clark scored in the paint, also off a pass from Collins. Collins capped the surge with a trey off a pass from Clark to give USU a 21-16 lead with 7:38 left in the first half.

“That just shows the kind of team that we have. Everybody is happy for each other,” Collins said. “You know, we’re a unit. I’ve told coach plenty of times that this team has no egos. Like I said, we’re just all happy for each other, and you can see that in our play.”

Another shot from long range ignited the next Aggie run. Falslev drilled a trey when Elijah Perryman found him. Falslev finished off 10 straight points by the designated home team with a deep 3-pointer to beat the shot clock, giving USU a 33-21 lead with 1:41 before the break.

The Aggies would finish off the first half with four straight points to take a 37-23 lead into halftime. USU turned nine UNLV turnovers into 15 points, while the Rebels scored zero points on seven Aggie turnovers over the first 20 minutes.

“College basketball is a game of runs,” Calhoun said. “When kids see the ball go through the basket, you know, their intensity defensively picks up.”

USU built a 52-33 lead less than six minutes into the second half. Tucker Anderson swished a 3-pointer off a pass from Perryman to give the Aggies their largest lead to that point.

The Rebels used a pair of 3-pointers by Hamilton sandwiched around double technicals on Hamilton and Clark at the 12:06 mark and two more treys to get within 58-47 with 8:40 to play.

USU put the game away with its big run as Falslev converted a three-point play to “M-V-P” chants.

“Yeah, feels like the Spectrum. It really does,” said Allen when asked about the crowd. “You can get out there, you hear the boos, you hear the cheers, right? Then when they start doing the Scotsman, you know it’s game time, right? We’re very grateful. We’re very blessed to have fans that travel. And I think that every game this week is going to be a home game for us, so we should be ready to go. … We have to bring another championship home for them.”

Falslev and Gibbs-Lawhorn were both hit with technicals with 3:57 to play as they squared up and shared words.

“Probably where I’m most proud is the foul discipline, right?” Calhoun said. “We talked about foul discipline. They (Rebels) only shot 15 free throws. This is a team that likes to get the ball to the paint, likes to draw fouls. So I thought our ability to play with our chest today was really, really critical.”