Utah State Secures Statement Win On The Road Against Saint Mary’s
Dec 22, 2024, 9:02 PM | Updated: Dec 23, 2024, 4:06 pm
MORAGA, California- The Utah State Aggies wrapped up their non-conference schedule with their first true road game of the season in the San Francisco Bay Area to take on Saint Mary’s.
The Gaels have made the NCAA Tournament each of the last three seasons and are well on their way to another successful season with wins over Nebraska, USC, and Utah so far this season. With all previous games for the Aggies occurring either at home or on a neutral court, Sait Mary’s was by far Utah State’s biggest test up to this point.
The tough road environment didn’t seem to matter as the Utah State Aggies controlled the majority of the game, ultimately notching a win and an important piece of their resume for March, defeating the Gaels 75-68.
Wrapped up non-conference play with a 𝘿𝙐𝘽‼️#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/0Bm1hottd4
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 23, 2024
Utah State opened play against Saint Mary’s with no hitch in their step. A few early buckets between the two squads had the Gaels leading 5-4 just three and a half minutes into the game, and that was the last time that Utah State would trail. The Aggies jumped out to a 12-5 and only dominated from there. The deficit fluctuated between two and five points through the first 20 minutes, until Utah State went on a run to close out the half, entering the locker room leading 39-27.
The second half was a battle with Sait Mary’s making a few runs to cut the Utah State lead to single digits, but the Aggies had some dominant stretches of their own. Their largest lead was 17 points and came with 9:39 remaining, an almost insurmountable amount for the home team Saint Mary’s.
Regardless, the Gaels made their late push and closed the gap to as few as six points in the dying moments of the game, but the Aggies held strong, making free throws down the stretch, to close out Sait Mary’s for their second Quad 1 win of the year.
Mason Falslev led the way for the Aggies with an extremely efficient 18 points on 8-11 shooting. He also hit the boards with five rebounds.
𝙏𝙊𝙐𝙂𝙃 bucket in the clutch for @mason_falslev pic.twitter.com/bqJq4vPrXi
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 23, 2024
Karson Templin provided a huge spark off the bench with 13 points, including three 3-pointers.
Back-2️⃣-back triples for KT 🙌@karsontemplin pic.twitter.com/Evk2Xp1S4m
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 23, 2024
Utah State as a team shot extremely well, hitting 59% of their shots, better than any other opponent has against Saint Mary’s this year. The Aggies also took advantage of their opportunities from the free-throw line. Despite having eight fewer attempts than the Gaels, Utah State only had one less make. Those nine missed free throws for Saint Mary’s ended up being crucial in a game that they only lost by seven points. The Aggies also dominated the paint on the offensive end with 40 of their points coming from inside the key.
The Aggies are now 11-1 on the season with impresive win over teams like Iowa, St. Bonaventure, and now Saint Mary’s, proving that they are able to defeat formitable opponents on the road.
Utah State was already receiving votes in the AP Top 25 Poll, and with their wins over the Gaels, they will likely be either nationaly ranked, or very close the next time that the poll is released.
Up Next For The Utah State Aggies
The Aggies will take some time off before begining Mountain West Conference play on December 28 on the road against the San Diego State Aztecs on Fox and December 31 at Nevada to take on the Wolf Pack on the Mountain West Network, two more chances to add Quad 1 wins, with both of their first Mountain West opponents in the top 60 of the Net Rankings.
