MORAGA, Calif. – Utah State men's basketball showcased its explosive offense Saturday night at University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga, defeating Saint Mary's 97-89 in exhibition play. This was USU's second of three exhibitions before officially opening the 2026-27 regular season on Nov. 2 versus Idaho State.
The Aggies were shorthanded, playing without reigning Mountain West Player of the Year Mason Falslev, as the senior guard missed the game with a lower body injury. He is considered day-to-day moving forward. Despite playing without their star, several USU players stepped up to fill the role.
With Falslev out, sophomore Kingston Tosi came up big. The 6-foot-8 wing played 32 minutes in his start, leading all Aggie scorers with 22 points to go along with six boards, an assist and three steals. He shot an efficient 8-of-12 from the floor and 6-of-7 at the charity stripe.
After opening the game on a strong note, scoring 20 of the night's first 30 points to open up an early double-digit advantage, the Aggies saw their lead disappear in just two minutes as the hosts went on a 12-0 run to capture their first lead of the contest. The USU deficit was short-lived, however, as it closed the first half on a 14-2 run including scoring the final 10 points of the half.
While the Aggies were outrebounded 28-19 in the first half, they made up for the issues on the glass with nine steals before the break. 11 Saint Mary's turnovers resulted in 12 Utah State points, as the Aggies took a 44-34 lead into the locker room at the half.
The second half was as streaky as the first. Quickly out of the break, Utah State scored a pair of jumpers to establish its largest lead of the night at 48-35. Six minutes later, however, the Gaels had cut that advantage to just a single point. This was followed by yet another USU run, this time a 17-6 streak to take command once again. It went on to hold a multi-possession lead the rest of the way.
Along with Tosi's strong performance, three other USU players reached double-figures in the scoring column. Graduate guard Dallin Hall went for 16 points, five rebounds, a team-best six assists and a pair of steals. Sophomore guard Brayden Boe finished with 15 points and five boards, while junior guard Solomon Callaghan scored 10 points.
The Aggies scored 52 of their 97 points in the paint. USU led for over 34 minutes and trailed for less than three.
In the past two seasons, the Gaels are 33-1 at home with their lone regular-season loss during that span coming to Utah State on Dec. 22, 2024.
Utah State finished the day shooting 54.0 percent (34-of-63) from the field, 31.6 percent (6-of-19) from 3-point range and 79.3 percent (23-of-29) at the free throw line. Saint Mary's shot 43.8 percent (35-of-80) from the floor, 35.1 percent (13-of-37) from deep and 46.2 percent (6-of-13) at the charity stripe.
UP NEXT
Utah State will return to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum for its third and final exhibition contest, hosting Santa Clara on Saturday, Oct. 24, at 2 p.m.
TICKETS
Season tickets for the 2026-27 Utah State men's basketball season are sold out. Fans interested in attending games can purchase a nonconference pass, which includes all home nonconference games, or single-game tickets, which are on sale now and available for purchase 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.
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