ORLANDO, Florida – Utah State men's basketball (6-0, 0-0 MW) won a battle between two of the nation's 26 remaining unbeaten teams Thursday evening, defeating St. Bonaventure 72-67 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. 
 
With the win, USU punched its ticket to the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game, where it will face the winner of North Texas and Northern Iowa tomorrow night. 
 
Five different players scoring in double-figures helped spark a second-half comeback for the Aggies. Sophomore guard Mason Falslev led the team's scoring efforts, as he followed the first double-double of his career last week against Iowa with the second of his career tonight. He finished the night with 15 points and a career-high-tying 12 rebounds, to go along with two assists and two steals. 
 
After a strong start to the contest, opening the night with a 7-0 scoring run, the Aggies fell cold with 18-straight misses from the field midway through the first half, a drought spanning over eight minutes. Despite the cold spell, relentless defense and eight offensive boards during that span kept the Bonnies at bay. USU remained within a point, until an 8-0 run late in the half gave St. Bonaventure a 30-25 advantage at the break. 
 
The Bonnies tacked on to their five-point halftime lead with a pair of quick buckets to start the second half, but back-to-back triples from graduate guard Dexter Akanno helped trim that lead back down to two before the 15-minute mark. 
 
The Aggies responded to their largest deficit of the contest with a 18-3 run to take an eight-point lead, their largest of the night to that point. That lead eventually ballooned to as many as 13 points with under three minutes remaining. A last-ditch effort by the Bonnies fell short as USU iced the game with 5-for-5 free throw shooting in the final 1:15 of action. 
 
Utah State followed a 25-point first half with a 47-point second half. The team's 24 percent shooting from the floor and 11 percent shooting from deep in the first half jumped to 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from 3-point range in the second half. 
 
Along with Falslev's big night, other Aggies in double-figures in the scoring column included graduate guard Ian Martinez and Akanno with 14 points apiece, graduate guard Drake Allen with 12 points and senior center Aubin Gateretse with 10. 
 
In total, USU shot 34.4 percent (22-of-64) from the field, 21.4 percent (6-of-28) from behind the 3-point arc and 78.6 percent (22-of-28) at the free throw line. 
 
UP NEXT
Utah State will play in the NIT Season Tip-Off championship game tomorrow, facing the winner of North Texas and Northern Iowa. The game will tip at 4:30 p.m. (MT) on ESPN2.
 
SEASON TICKETS
Season ticket deposits for the 2024-25 season are available now. Save your seat today by clicking on the following link here.
 
FOLLOW
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.
 
- USU -