LOGAN — Ten unanswered points midway through the second quarter proved to be the difference for the freshly ranked Aggies in a heavyweight Mountain West Conference bout late Wednesday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Once No. 23 Utah State got in front down the stretch, it stayed there against Nevada after 12 lead changes and seven ties. The Aggies ran their winning streak to eight with a 71-62 victory in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,270.
"It was obviously a tough game," USU guard Mason Falslev said. "Credit to Nevada. They came out and were ready for us. No buckets came easy, but we got it done, and that's what matters."
The Aggies (15-1, 6-0 MW) used defense to get the job done on Stew Morrill Court, holding the Wolf Pack (12-5, 4-2) to a season low in points scored.
"Every game is different and we have beaten teams by a pretty big margin recently, but the reality of it is, this is the Mountain West," USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. "Every night is going to be a battle. … The headline tonight should be our defense. We held a really good team to 62 points. We couldn't do that last year. We have made a lot of strides."
Nevada was able to grab 16 offensive rebounds in the game, but finished with just three second-chance points. USU blocked eight shots and also caused the Wolf Pack to turn the ball over 14 times, which was their second highest mark this season.
"Guys were just flying around, made some plays and fed off the crowd," Calhoun said. "… We are balanced and guys have bought in. I'm proud of the guys battling, contesting shots and flying around. We won ugly. To be able to do that is pretty awesome."
Nevada came into the game having won eight of its last nine contests, but shot 34.4 percent from the field, which was a season low for a USU opponent this season.
"When everyone buys in, and we do the little things on defense, we are hard to score on," Falslev said. "It's going to win us a lot of games hopefully."
There were big plays by the Aggies throughout the game, but especially in the second half as possessions became bigger. Falslev made a steal and layup after a missed free throw by a teammate, which was followed by a stop and a rebound bucket by Karson Templin to push the lead to 10 points.
"Every basket in this game really mattered," Calhoun said. "… I thought when Mason stole the ball was really big. He (Falslev) made huge free throws tonight."
In the final 44 seconds, Falslev and Collins each knocked down a pair of free throws to give USU its biggest lead, 71-60.
That duo led the Aggies in scoring. Falslev finished with a season-high 26 points, while Collins netted 14 points.
"I think every team should try and lock up MJ; he has been phenomenal this year," Falslev said. "Credit to him for finding ways to impact the game even when he wasn't scoring. I love MJ Collins."
Five different Aggies recorded five rebounds each in Falslev, Templin, Kolby King, Adlan Elamin and Drake Allen. Allen also had five assists, three steals and blocked two shots. Elamin and Templin blocked three shots each.
"Give credit to the big guys," Falslev said. "They got a lot of blocks, and I think when you're just playing that hard and the ball gets a little slippery, it's tough to finish through all that traffic."
The Wolf Pack were led by Corey Camper Jr. with 14 points. The reigning MW Player of the Week, Elijah Price, had a double-double with 13 points and a game-best 11 rebounds. Tayshawn Comer added 11 points.
"That's one of the best offenses in the country and obviously one of the best teams in the country, ranked 23rd in the AP Poll, so we knew we were going to have our hands full," Nevada assistant coach Jarod Lucas said. "We tried to mix things up just because of how potent that offense is. They lead the conference in at least five to seven offensive stats. Scoring, shooting percentage, they're number two in the country in field goal percentage. We tried to slow them down but they obviously got the best of this deal."
The Aggies raced out to a 7-2 lead two minutes into the contest as Falslev had all seven points. Then the hosts went nearly four minutes without scoring a field goal, which would become a theme for both teams over the first 20 minutes.
"When that first bucket goes through, it's okay, I can do this," Falslev said. "You never want to relax. It felt good to start like that."
The Wolf Pack scored five straight points to take their first lead of the game, 14-13, when Camper drilled a 3-pointer with 11:43 left in the opening half.
USU would go more than five minutes between field goals, but Nevada didn't fair much better and could only build a two-point advantage.
After eight lead changes, the Aggies finished off the first half with seven straight points over the final five minutes. Collins drilled a 3-pointer off a pass from Templin to put the hosts in front. Collins threw down a dunk on a break when Falslev came up with a steal and tossed the ball ahead. Elijah Perryman scored the final points of the first half with 1:55 before the break on a fast break layup when Kolby King made a steal and pass.
USU took a 29-23 lead into the locker room.
Nevada grabbed 12 offensive rebounds in the first half, but failed to turn those into any points. The Aggies did block seven shots in the first half and forced five turnovers by the Wolf Pack. The visitors also put up 13 more shots than the hosts, but connected on 26.5 percent, while the Aggies shot 42.9 percent.
"The rebounding side of everything was hard," Falslev said. "The ball was pinging around, and we were fighting for it. I think they did win the rebounding battle, but I think we had a good second half and we tried to stop them from getting offensive rebounds."
USU extended its lead to 31-23 to begin the second half when Zach Keller scored in the paint. Then the Wolf Pack came to life with a trio of 3-pointers that were part of an 11-0 run. Vaughn Weems gave the visitors a 34-31 lead with a shot from long range with 16:17 to play.
USU did not call a timeout and weathered the storm.
"The assistants said to call one (timeout)," Calhoun said. "Those are those feel plays. As a coach, you need to feel it out. I thought we would need those timeouts. … I trust our guys to keep playing, and we needed those timeouts at the end. … I've got good guys, and they need to problem solve, which they did."
Falslev scored back-to-back buckets on fast breaks to put the Aggies back in front, briefly, 40-38.
Nevada built its largest lead of the game, 44-40, by scoring six straight points. Camper drilled a 3-pointer to cap the surge.
"We just stayed the course, played our game and don't try and do things we can't," Falslev said. "We were consistent and kept our habits. When we do that, games fall our way."
A dunk by Perryman off a long pass from Templin sparked a 10-0 run by the hosts. A hustle play by Falslev off a missed missed free throw saw the ball get to Collins, who drilled a 3-pointer to give USU a 50-44 lead with 9:37 left in the game.
A 7-0 surge by the Aggies gave them their first double-digit lead of the game, 61-51, with less than five minutes to go. Elamin drilled a 3-pointer on the break to bring the noise level up. Falslev scored on a fast break to make it a 10-point lead.
Nevada never got closer than six points the rest of the way.
"I thought it was a great college basketball game," Calhoun said. "Two teams that laid it all out. A lot of adjustments and a lot of battles. … They (Wolf Pack) have really good players, and they have a great team. For our guys to stay the course on a night when we only scored 71 points is a real testament to our defense and our toughness and our commitment. To just continue to play and do whatever the game presents, don't assume anything, play possession-by-possession and stay present, I think we did that."
