Courtesy of Utah State Athletics
SAN DIEGO – Junior guard Mason Falslev and senior guard MJ Collins Jr. combined for 42 points, including 32 in the second half, to lead Utah State to a come-from-behind 86-76 win against Villanova here inside Vejas Arena Friday afternoon.
With the win, the ninth-seeded Aggies, advance to the round of 32 for the second time in three years, but for just the third time since 1971. Overall, it is USU’s sixth appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
After building a nine-point advantage in the first half, Utah State trailed by as many as 10 in the second half as Villanova made 10 of its first 21 3-point attempts. With the game tied at 73-73 and 3:54 to play, USU finished the contest on a 13-3 run to post the 10-point win.
Utah State improves to 29-6 on the season, which are the third-most wins in program history, trailing the 2008-09 team that won a school record 30 games and the 2010-11 squad that tied the school record.
Utah State also improved to 8-27 all-time in the NCAA Tournament and has now won two of its last four games in the Big Dance.
Falslev, the Mountain West Player of the Year, scored a team-high 22 points and tied for the team-high with seven rebounds, while adding four assists. Falslev scored 16 of his points in the second half.
Collins, who had 20 points and four rebounds, also scored 16 points in the second half.
Freshman wing Adlan Elamin had 13 points, seven rebounds and three assists, while graduate guard Drake Allen finished with 11 points, six assists, three rebounds and three steals.
Utah State shot 54.9 percent (28-of-51) but was just 2-of-16 (.125) from 3-point range, the fewest 3-pointers made in a game this season for USU. The Aggies did convert 28-of-36 free throws and won the rebounding margin 37-27. USU had a 42-26 advantage with points in the paint, a 16-3 advantage in bench points, a 14-2 advantage in fast break points, an 18-9 advantage in points off turnovers, and a 13-6 advantage in second chance points.
Villanova shot 44.4 percent (28-of-63) and made 14-of-30 (.467) shots from behind the arc, while converting 6-of-13 free throws.
Bryce Lindsay led four double-digit scores for the Wildcats with 25 points as he was 6-of-11 from behind the arc.
Utah State scored the first four points of the game and took its largest lead of the half at 22-13 following a layup from Elamin at the 12:14 mark. With USU holding a 31-24 lead, Villanova used a 9-0 run to take its first lead at 33-31 and took a 39-37 advantage into the locker room.
The Wildcats continued its momentum into the second half by scoring nine of the first 10 points to take its largest lead of the game at 48-38 just 2:07 into the second stanza. USU responded with a 16-6 run over the next 3:39 to tie the game at 54-54. The Aggies regained the lead at 61-60 following a layup from Falslev and it remained a one possession game for the next 7:33. That is when Utah State took control and finished the game on a 13-3 run over the final 3:11 to post the 86-76 victory.
NEXT UP
With the victory, Utah State advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where it will face top-seeded Arizona on Sunday, March 22. Game time is to be determined.
FOLLOW ALONG
For more information on Utah State’s men’s basketball program, follow the Aggies on Facebook at usumensbasketball, on Twitter at @usubasketball and on Instagram at @usubasketball. Fans can also watch USU men’s basketball highlights by visiting youtube.com/utahstateathletics.
