SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – In its final tuneup before the start of Mountain West play, Utah State men's basketball took down Illinois State 83-78 in a neutral-site battle at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Saturday to improve to 9-1 on the season.
A dominant effort on the glass and outstanding ball movement throughout helped the Aggies secure the victory, as USU pulled down 33 rebounds to Illinois State's 18, including 19 offensive boards, the most by a Utah State team since 2020. Senior forward Garry Clark led the way on the glass, pulling down seven offensive boards and eight total rebounds, to go along with 18 points, two assists and two steals.
The Aggies got off to a strong start in this one with the help of senior forward Zach Keller, who, in his first start of the season, reached his season scoring high just five minutes in as he scored seven of the team's first 11 points of the day. Keller went on to total nine points and four boards in 15 minutes of action.
After trailing by multiple possessions early, the Redbirds pulled even with 5:39 left in the first half, before a 10-0 Aggie run put USU back in front by double-digits, a lead which it would hold on to the rest of the way. At the half, Utah State led 40-33, paced by 10 first-half points by senior guard MJ Collins Jr.
Nine minutes into the second half, Utah State reached its largest advantage of the night, a 15-point lead at 62-47. That was answered by a 16-5 run by the Redbirds, who would eventually cut the lead down to just a single possession at 75-72 with two minutes to play. After being held to one make in nine field goal attempts, the Aggies made their final two shots of the day, while adding on four points from the charity stripe in the final 23 seconds to secure the victory.
Collins Jr. followed his 10 first-half points with 10 more in the second half to finish the day with a team-best 20 points, his sixth 20-plus point outing of the season.
Junior guard Mason Falslev had another well-rounded performance for the Aggies, as he went for 16 points, six rebounds, a team-high-tying four assists and a team-high four steals. As a team, Utah State forced 17 Redbird turnovers with eight steals.
The Aggies led for 35:11 and trailed for just 2:37.
In total, Utah State shot 52.5 percent (32-of-61) from the floor, 38.9 percent (7-of-19) from 3-point range and 80.0 percent (12-of-15) at the charity stripe. Illinois State shot 58.8 percent (30-of-51) from the field, 35.7 percent (5-of-14) from behind the arc and 81.3 percent (13-of-16) at the free throw line.
UP NEXT
Utah State will return to Logan next week to open Mountain West play, hosting Colorado State Saturday, Dec. 20, at noon, at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The game will be streamed on Mountain West Network and broadcast locally on KMYU.
TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2025-26 men's basketball season have sold out. Fans can purchase single game tickets for available remaining games here. A waitlist for 2026-27 season tickets is now available 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-