Utah State men’s basketball faced their toughest test of the season on Friday night, taking on Iowa in the NABC Hall of Fame Classic. After a back-and-forth battle, the Aggies picked up their fifth win to stay undefeated and notch a quality non-conference win.
USU was led by guard Mason Falslev, who scored a career-high tying 25 points and 12 rebounds to record his first career double-double.
“You win games ugly early, so it’s better to win than lose,” said head coach Jerrod Calhoun after the game. “Falslev was certainly unbelievable in huge moments. Iowa won a ton of games, so this will be a good ‘quad one’ win hopefully.”
The first half was a dogfight for both sides. Each team had plenty of opportunities to grab a commanding lead, but a plethora of missed opportunities held them back.
Iowa started the game 0-9 from three before connecting on two of their last four before the half. Utah State struggled to put the ball through the net, shooting just 36% from the floor in the first half. They also had an uncharacteristic eight turnovers and 12 fouls.
The Hawkeyes made up for their first-half struggles from beyond the arc with their size inside. Iowa had 24 points in the paint in the first half and controlled the paint on the defensive end.
A key factor in the Aggies’ poor first-half shooting was the Hawkeye’s presence down low. Utah State had just 16 points in the paint in the first half and struggled to finish near the rim.
The two teams spent much of the half trading baskets, with the lead going back and forth. Despite their sloppy play, the Aggies led for much of the half but found themselves down four at the break, 37-33.
The second half started similarly to the first, with the Hawkeyes staying in front during the early goings. The Aggies were able to hang around during the second half, only trailing by as much as six. The first 30 minutes of the game were a seesaw battle that saw seven lead changes and seven ties.
With just over 12 minutes left in the game, Utah State found themselves down four and fighting to stay in it. The dual guard threat of Falslev and Ian Martinez then rattled off nine unanswered points for the Aggies, catapulting them into a five-point lead. The Hawkeyes responded by cutting the lead to one before Falslev scored five straight to extend the USU lead.
“We adapted. And like coach said, we’ve got to find a way to win,” Falslev said after the game.
The Aggies, led by Falslev, maintained their distance through the rest of the half to pull away and pick up a big neutral site win.
After their first half was derailed by poor shooting, Utah State bounced back and shot 56% from the field in the second half to pull away. For the Hawkeyes, it was more of the same. After connecting on 2-13, Iowa could only improve to 3-13 in the second half.
“Just inching out on shooters, trying to keep people in front. A big part of their offense is 3-point shooting, so you have to really be able to guard the ball to take the three away,” Calhoun said. “Contesting without fouling, which is difficult in these games … I give our guys a lot of credit.”
The Aggies will look to continue their winning streak next week as they travel to Orlando, Florida, to play in the NIT Season Tip-Off. They will face the St. Bonaventure Bonnies on Thanksgiving Day at 3:30 p.m.
The post Falslev records first career double-double, leads Aggies to victory over Iowa appeared first on The Utah Statesman.
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