LAS VEGAS – Utah State men's basketball (26-6, 15-5 MW) secured a trip to its seventh Mountain West Tournament semifinal in the past eight years Thursday night, as the 3-seed Aggies defeated 6-seed UNLV 70-58 at the Thomas & Mack Center. USU will now face 2-seed Colorado State tomorrow night with a trip to the title game on the line.
 
A dominant showing on the defensive end by Utah State made the difference as the Aggies limited UNLV to just 23.6 percent (13-of-55) shooting from the field in the contest, the lowest shooting percentage by a USU opponent since 2020 and the second-lowest opponent shooting percentage in Mountain West Tournament history. 
 
Strong performances from the guard duo of fifth year Ian Martinez and sophomore Mason Falslev helped the Aggies as the pair combined for 31 points and 15 boards in the contest. Martinez went for a team-high 17 points to go along with six boards, while Falslev scored 16 points while totaling team-highs of nine rebounds, six assists and two steals. 
 
The Aggie defense was stifling right from the start, forcing the Rebels into 10 misses on their first 11 shot attempts and allowing just a single made field goal in the first 9:40 of action. After taking a 16-5 lead, Utah State faced a drought of its own, giving up nine-straight points as it missed six-straight shots. UNLV extended the run to a 17-3 streak to take its first lead of the night at 22-19. 
 
Foul trouble plagued Utah State early as four different Aggie players picked up multiple first-half fouls and 14 of UNLV's 29 points in the period came from the charity stripe, but despite taking just four free throws to the Rebels' 15, USU closed the half strong with the final five points to take a 36-29 advantage into the break. 
 
Utah State came out strong in the second half, steadily building on its lead and extending it into double-digits with help from a spark off the bench by sophomore forward Karson Templin. After being held without a shot in the first half, Templin scored seven-straight points for the Aggies to make it a 13-point advantage at the 12-minute media timeout.
 
USU established its largest lead of the night with 11 minutes to play, going up 54-39. While the Aggies remained in front the rest of the way, UNLV kept itself alive from the free throw line, all 11 of their points in the final six minutes of the contest coming from the charity stripe. In total, the Rebels took 37 free throws to Utah State's 17. The Aggies were whistled for 27 fouls with two players fouling out and three more picking up four. 
 
USU led for 36:57 of action, including the final 24 minutes, while trailing for just 2:09. 
 
Along with the big performances by Falslev and Martinez, Templin and sophomore wing Tucker Anderson each finished with nine points off the bench. Templin also tacked on six rebounds and an assist in just 17 minutes of action, while the Aggie reserves accounted for 24 total points. 
 
Utah State finished the game shooting 44.8 percent (25-of-54) from the floor, 32.0 percent (8-of-25) from behind the 3-point arc and 70.6 percent (12-of-17) from the free throw line. UNLV shot 23.6 percent (13-of-55) from the field, including 15.0 percent (3-of-20) from 3-point range and 78.4 percent (29-of-37) at the charity stripe. 
 
UP NEXT
Utah State will now advance to the semifinal round of the Mountain West Tournament where it will face 2-seed Colorado State tomorrow evening. Tip-off is set for 10 p.m. (MT) on CBS Sports Network. The conference championship game will be on Saturday, March 15, at 5 p.m. (MT) on CBS. 
 
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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