Utah State advanced to the semifinals of the Mountain West Championships with an 80-60 win over UNLV on March 12 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas. Junior guard Mason Falslev and senior guard MJ Collins Jr. combined for 44 points, leading the top-seeded Aggies past eighth-seeded UNLV in the quarterfinals.
The victory moves Utah State (26-6) into the tournament semifinals for the eighth time in nine years. The team now holds a 20-10 all-time record in Mountain West Championship play, including an 8-6 mark in quarterfinal games. This season marks the fourth consecutive year and eleventh time overall that Utah State has achieved at least 26 wins.
Falslev, named Most Valuable Player of the regular season, scored a game-high 24 points on efficient shooting and contributed nine rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Collins added 20 points along with four assists, three rebounds, three steals, and one block. Utah State shot just over 50 percent from the field and made eight of twenty attempts from beyond the arc.
The Aggies controlled several aspects of play, outscoring UNLV by wide margins in points off turnovers (23-3), points in the paint (40-26), fast break points (14-4), and bench scoring (25-9). After trailing early, Utah State finished the first half on a strong run to lead by fourteen at halftime and maintained a double-digit advantage throughout the second half.
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn led UNLV with 17 points. Utah State will face fifth-seeded Nevada next in Friday’s semifinal round at 7:30 p.m., with coverage available on CBS Sports Network.
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