LAS VEGAS, Nevada – Junior guard Mason Falslev and senior guard MJ Collins Jr. combined for 44 points to lead top-seeded Utah State to a dominating 80-60 win against eighth-seeded UNLV in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Championships held here inside the Thomas & Mack Center Thursday afternoon.

With the victory, Utah State (26-6) advances to the semifinals of the tournament for the eighth time in the past nine years. USU is now 20-10 all-time in the MW Championships, including an 8-6 record in quarterfinal games.

It is the fourth straight season and 11th time in program history that USU has won at least 26 games.

Falslev, the MW regular season Most Valuable Player, finished with a game-high 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and was 1-for-1 at the free throw line. He added a game-high-tying nine rebounds to go along with three steals and three assists.

Collins, a second-team All-MW performer, added 20 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including 2-of-8 from behind the arc, and was 4-for-4 at the free throw line. Collins added a season-high-tying three steals and one block to go along with four assists and three rebounds.

Utah State finished the game shooting 50.9 percent (29-of-57), including 40.0 percent (8-of-20) from 3-point range, and was 14-of-22 (.636) from the free throw line. It is the 17th time this year that USU has shot 50 percent from the field. UNLV shot 40.7 percent (22-of-54), including 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from behind the arc, and was 8-of-15 (.533) at the charity stripe.

Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn led the Rebels with 17 points.

Utah State controlled the game in a variety of areas as it had a 23-3 advantage in points off turnovers, a 40-26 advantage in points in the paint, and a 14-4 advantage in fast break points, while its reserves outscored the UNLV bench 25-9.

Falslev scored the first five points of the game to give Utah State an early 5-2 advantage. UNLV then went on a 9-2 run to take its largest lead of the contest at 11-7 at the 13:30 mark. The Rebels later held a 16-13 advantage before USU went on an 8-0 run to pull ahead 21-16 with 7:38 to play in the half. UNLV fought back and got within two at 23-21, but the Aggies finished the first half on a 14-2 run over the final 4:30 to take a 37-23 lead into halftime. Falslev scored seven points for USU during that final push and Collins chipped in with four points.

Falslev led USU with 17 points in the first half as he was 7-of-8 shooting, including 3-of-3 from 3-point range. Collins scored 11 points in the first 20 minutes.

Utah State shot 55.6 percent (15-of-27) in the first 20 minutes, including 5-of-10 from behind the arc, and was 2-for-2 at the free throw line. UNLV shot 36.0 percent (9-of-25), including 2-of-11 (.182) from behind the arc, and was 3-of-5 at the charity stripe.

The game was never in doubt in the final 20 minutes as Utah State held a double-digit lead for the entire second half. USU increased its advantage to 19 points at 52-33 following a 3-pointer from junior wing Tucker Anderson with 14:21 remaining. UNLV made one final push via an 11-3 run to get within 11 points at 55-44. The game remained at 11 points at 60-49 with eight minutes to play. USU then used a 13-1 run over the next 4:12 to take its largest lead of the game at 73-50 with 3:33 remaining and went on to post the 20-point win. 

NEXT UP
Utah State advances to Friday's semifinals and will face fifth-seeded Nevada at 7:30 p.m. (MT). The game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network. 

FOLLOW ALONG
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.