ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – With first place in the Mountain West men's basketball standings on the line, Utah State (22-4, 12-3 MW) fell just short on Sunday in Albuquerque, dropping an 82-79 thriller at The Pit.
 
Sparking the Aggies early were the guard duo of sophomore Mason Falslev and graduate Drake Allen. Falslev scored the first seven Utah State points of the day, followed by nine-straight from Allen. Fifth year guard Ian Martinez then got in on the scoring action, accounting for the next six Aggie points. In total, the trio combined for 31 of the team's 42 first-half points, and 12 of its 13 made first-half field goals. 
 
Despite eight lead changes in the first 20 minutes, the Aggies maintained control for the majority of the half, leading for 11:47 and trailing for just 2:41. At the break, USU held a 42-36 advantage. 
 
Utah State was plagued by foul trouble from early in the game, being called for 15 fouls in the first half to New Mexico's seven. Three USU players had three fouls at the half, while senior forward Aubin Gateretse was called for his third and fourth less than two minutes into the second half. He fouled out later after just seven minutes on the court. 
 
The Aggies came out of the gates strong in the second half, scoring back-to-back buckets to stretch the lead to 10, but a 7-0 run by the Lobos later in the half flipped the script, giving the hosts the lead at 53-52. Utah State held close, trailing by a point with four minutes to play, but seven-straight Lobo points in one minute gave New Mexico its largest lead of the night, an eight-point advantage at 74-66
 
USU wasn't done, however. After a Falslev 3-pointer and a New Mexico response on the other end with a dunk, the Aggies scored seven-straight points to erase the deficit with 1:25 to play. The Lobos scored the next four points, but a Falslev triple once again kept Utah State alive with four seconds to play. After a 2-for-2 trip to the free throw line to put the Lobos up three, USU couldn't connect with a half court heave at the buzzer to even things up. 
 
In total, the Aggies were called for 29 fouls compared to New Mexico's 15. Six USU players had three or more fouls. The Lobos took 34 free throws on the day, while USU took 16. 
 
Falslev came just short of a career-high in the scoring column, finishing the day with 27 points on 10-of-16 shooting from the floor, 4-of-7 shooting from deep and 3-of-3 shooting at the line. He also went for six rebounds, an assist and a team-best five steals. Martinez also crossed the 20-point mark, going for 21 points along with four boards, three assists, a steal and a block. 
 
Allen was the top facilitator for the Aggies, recording a 13-point, 10-assist double-double, while also going for three steals. 
 
Utah State finished the game shooting 47.5 percent (28-of-59) from the floor, 38.5 percent (10-of-26) from behind the 3-point arc and 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the free throw line. New Mexico shot 46.2 percent (24-of-52) from the field, including 35.0 percent (7-of-20) from 3-point range and 79.4 percent (27-of-34) at the charity stripe. 
 
UP NEXT
Utah State will now return home for a pair of games next week, beginning on Wednesday, Feb. 19, when it hosts San José State at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast locally on KMYU and streamed on the Mountain West Network. 
 
SEASON TICKETS
There are a limited number of tickets available for all remaining home games. To purchase visit utahstateaggies.com/tickets. 
 
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.
 
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