Courtesy of Utah State Athletics
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Utah State men’s basketball’s (26-8, 15-5 MW) season came to a close in the first round of the NCAA Tournament as the 10-seed Aggies fell to 7-seed UCLA 72-47 at Rupp Arena on Thursday.
UCLA was propelled by strong shooting from deep as the Bruins made 10 3-pointers and connected on 45 percent of their outside shots, while poor shooting from outside the 3-point arc doomed the Aggies in this one. Utah State took over half of its shots from deep but connected on just 13 percent (4-of-31).
While the Aggies struggled to keep pace with UCLA’s hot shooting in the early going, they used the offensive glass to create opportunities. 11 of USU’s first 22 points were the result of offensive rebounding, as it pulled down eight offensive boards in the first 14 minutes.
Four of those offensive boards belonged to sophomore guard Mason Falslev, who led the team in almost every category in the first half with 13 points, nine rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals through 20 minutes.
Utah State trailed for over 18 minutes in the first half, but the Aggies kept it close. USU trailed by just two with 4:26 to play, before a 12-0 UCLA run gave the Bruins their largest lead of the half. At the break, UCLA held a 39-27 advantage. USU connected on just one of its final 11 shots of the half in a 31 percent shooting performance.
The team’s shooting woes continued on the other side of the break, as the Aggies made four of their first nine second-half shots but then missed nine-straight, allowing a 16-1 UCLA run to give the Bruins their largest lead of the night at 63-37. Utah State pushed back with 10-straight points of their own to cut into the deficit, but the scoring success was too late.
The Aggies were paced by a 17-point, 10-rebound performance from Falslev, who posted his third-career double-double. Falslev also finished with three assists and a pair of steals, all team-highs.
Senior guard Deyton Albury also had a strong outing for Utah State, totaling 12 points and a season-high seven rebounds, along with an assist and a steal.
USU concludes the year 26-8 overall and 15-5 in league play. This was just the 10th 26-win season in program history.
Utah State finished the game shooting 30.0 percent (18-of-60) from the floor, 12.9 percent (4-of-31) from behind the 3-point arc and 70.0 percent (7-of-10) from the free throw line. UCLA shot 48.1 percent (26-of-54) from the field, including 41.7 percent (10-of-24) from 3-point range and 100.0 percent (10-of-10) at the charity stripe.
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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.
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