ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – In a battle for first place in the Mountain West standings, Utah State men's basketball earned a statement win on the road, handing New Mexico its worst loss at The Pit in over five years with an 86-66 win Wednesday night in Albuquerque. With the win, the Aggies improve to 19-3 overall and 10-2 in league play.
While the Aggies were strong throughout, trailing for less than two minutes of action in the contest, it was a dominant second half that made the difference. Utah State outscored its hosts 50-33 in the final 20 minutes to silence 14,000 New Mexico fans and secure its largest victory in Albuquerque since 1979.
Outstanding defense and a strong effort on the glass sparked the Aggies, who held the Lobos to their second-lowest scoring output of the season. USU posted a 37-28 rebounding advantage, led by a career-high 10 rebound performance by freshman forward Adlan Elamin, who also scored 11 points to tally the first double-double of his career.
Junior guard Mason Falslev led the Aggies in the scoring column as he went for 19 points on an efficient 6-of-9 shooting night, including going 4-of-5 from 3-point range. Falslev rounded out his performance with four boards, three assists and two steals.
While both sides struggled to find offensive rhythm in the early going, the Aggies were the aggressors from the start. Utah State stretched its lead to as many as eight points in the first half, before a 7-0 run by the Lobos cut the advantage back to a single point. New Mexico would eventually briefly retake the lead before the intermission, but a 5-0 run sent USU to the locker room with a 36-33 lead.
Following the break, it took exactly 10 minutes of action for the Aggies to turn a five-point lead into a 20-point lead, as they held the Lobos to just three makes on nine attempts during that span.
Utah State was tasked with playing through foul trouble, as it was whistled for 23 fouls on the night with three players picking up at least four while senior forward Garry Clark fouled out, but the Aggies' depth was on display as the bench accounted for 31 points while eight different players overall scored five or more points.
Junior forward Karson Templin continued a run of outstanding play, going for 12 points, five rebounds, three assists and a steal on a 4-of-7 shooting night. Nine of his 12 points came in the second half.
Senior guard MJ Collins Jr. also put up big numbers, finishing the day with 14 points, a rebound, three assists and two steals in 33 minutes of action.
Utah State forced 15 New Mexico turnovers with nine steals, converting those turnovers into 19 points on the other end.
In total, Utah State shot 50.0 percent (30-of-60) from the floor, 35.5 percent (11-of-31) from 3-point range and 68.2 percent (15-of-22) at the charity stripe. New Mexico shot 41.2 percent (21-of-51) from the field, 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from behind the arc and 70.0 percent (21-of-30) at the free throw line.
UP NEXT
Utah State will remain on the road this weekend as it travels to Laramie, Wyoming, to face Wyoming on Saturday, Feb. 7. Tip-off is slated for 6 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
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.
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