LOGAN — It was more competitive the second time around, but the end result was close to the same.
Utah State broke a close game open near the end of the first half and just kept adding to its lead the rest of the game against Boise State late Wednesday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The Aggie men's basketball team rolled to a 75-56 Mountain West Conference victory in front of a soldout arena of 10,270.
"I'm really proud of our guys," USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. "I think at this time of year it's all about details, it's all about your prep. Anybody that we put into the game tonight was totally locked in with great energy."
In the first meeting with the Broncos in Boise, the Aggies won by 25 points. The win Wednesday night on Stew Morrill Court was the eighth straight for USU (23-3, 13-2 MW).
"Our guys understand what's at stake and have worked extremely hard," Calhoun said. "They are paying attention to the details.
"… You have to shout out our fans. We got a foot of snow this afternoon. To see the commitment to this program, the HURD and general public has been incredible. It's really, really special."
The Broncos (15-11, 7-8) came into the game as one of the top offenses in the league. USU put the clamps on the visitors, holding them to 36.8 percent shooting from the field and their lost point total of the season with 56.
"To hold Boise to 56 points, 36 percent from the field, is just a tremendous effort," Calhoun said. "I'm really proud of the guys and we can certainly build off of this. … I really think we have some the best perimeter defenders in the country. Kolby King is an unsung hero. MJ Collins really buys into defense. Drake Allen did an incredible job. (Mason) Falslev's leadership has risen."
Boise State did grab 13 offensive rebounds, but couldn't do much with them. The Broncos had just five second-chance points.
"I think that is a credit to our toughness," USU forward Zach Keller said. "We have to finish plays. We are not going to win big games if we get outrebounded. Luckily, our defensive grit helped us, but moving forward we need to be much better on the rebounding aspect."
Keller played a big part in disrupting Boise State and drew big praise from his coach. Keller finished with 10 points and a career-high seven rebounds.
"It felt great; I just try and do what I can to help my team," Calhoun said. "It just happened I was making plays early and helping my team defensively. It felt great."
"I'm really proud of Zach Keller, we let him light the A up," Calhoun said. "This kid is getting better and better. The size that he has protecting the rim, I thought he did a tremendous job on their bigs. … It's a shame we only get to coach him one year. He hasn't played in the NCAA Tournament and you can see the sense of urgency he has had in his prep. … His confidence is through the roof right now. If he can do that, that gives us a whole other dynamic. He was tremendous tonight."
The Aggies were led by guard Mason Falslev, who went off for a stretch in the second half. He finished with a game-best 17 points.
Joining Falslev and Keller in double-digit scoring for USU was guard MJ Collins Jr. (13) and wing Adlan Elamin (10). Forwards Karson Templin and Garry Clark each added seven points. Guard Drake Allen had a game-high six assists.
"It was a close game in the first half, and we knew we had to get MJ and Mason going because they are our leading scorers," Keller said. "They got going and the entire team got going."
Collins and and Falslev combined for just six points in the first half.
The Broncos were led by their big man Drew Fielder, who matched his season average with 14 points. The 6-foot-11 center hauled in a game-high eight rebounds. No other Boise State player reached double figures in scoring.
"Utah State's a heck of a team and man, they are really guarding right now," Bronco head coach Leon Rice said. "Coach (Calhoun) has done a great job with this group, buying in. When they guard, they're one of the hardest teams to beat."
Keller scored the Aggies first seven points, including a 3-pointer and a dunk off a pass from Elamin.
"I saw some looks early, and I decided to take them," Keller said. "My teammates have my back, and I know that. I went for it. … When I'm open, I might as well let it fly."
After seven lead changes and four ties, the Broncos put the first significant run together. The visitors scored nine straight points as the Aggies went more than three-and-a-half minutes without scoring. Dominic Parolin capped the Boise State run with a bucket in the paint to give the Broncos a 21-14 lead with 8:34 left in the opening half.
Calhoun did not call a timeout.
"I think sometimes your players have got to figure it out," Calhoun said. "Those timeouts are very valuable late in games. Sometimes you have to trust your players that they are going to figure it out. I thought they did."
Boise State would score just one bucket the rest of the first half.
Elamin threw down a nifty pass from Elijah Perryman to start a 9-0 run. Falslev drove in for a bucket, followed by a rebound field goal by Elamin and a 3-pointer from Kolby King to put USU back in front, 23-21, at the 5:48 mark.
After Dylan Andrews barely beat the shot clock for the Broncos, the Aggies scored seven unanswered. Templin hit a shot from long range, followed by a pair of free throws from Falslev, and a spin move to hole by Collins.
Neither team scored over the final 2:49 of the half. USU took a 30-23 into the break. Boise State had eight turnovers in the first half, three of which came from shot-clock violations. The Aggies turned those turnovers into 11 points. USU had just three turnovers over the first 20 minutes.
The Bronco scoring drought carried over to the first few minutes of the second half. They went more than seven-and-a-half minutes between points.
The Aggies scored the first five points of the second 20 minutes, and Falslev heated up. Falslev scored nine straight Aggie points as the hosts extended their lead to 47-32 when Elamin hit a 3-pointer with 14:20 to play.
"The beautiful thing about Mason, is he is so competitive," Calhoun said. "He almost tries harder offensively when he's not making shots. We called his number on four or five straight plays. He doesn't let a negative play or missed shot affect him at all."
The first fastbreak points were scored by Perryman off a pass from King to ignite 10 straight points. Clark drilled a 3-pointer, and Collins capped the surge with a dunk on another break off a long pass from Allen. The jam gave USU a 57-35 lead with 8:53 left in the game. Collins drove to the hole to bring out the "Up by 20" chant by the students before the slam.
Boise State missed 12 straight field goal attempts and went nearly nine minutes between made buckets as USU built a 63-39 lead with six minutes to play. When the Broncos did hit a shot from the field, they made back-to-back treys.
However, Rice was hit with a technical, ending the 6-0 run by Boise State.
All 12 Aggies saw at least two minutes of action. USU ran the clock to end the game.
"You can win in a lot of different ways and we felt we were in a good spot at halftime," Calhoun said.
