Martinez, Falslev lead Utah State over UNLV

Editor’s Note: This article was updated on March 14 at 10:29 a.m. to adhere to AP Style guidelines.

Utah State Men’s Basketball won its matchup against UNLV 70-58 in the second round of the 2025 Mountain West Men’s Basketball Championships on March 13. Utah State was led by guards Ian Martinez and Mason Falslev, who each recorded double-digit points on the night.

Falslev tallied seven rebounds and six assists, both team highs, to go along with 15 points. Martinez had a team-high 17 points, extending his double-digit scoring streak to 35 straight games.

Falslev came into the game as one of only three players in the nation averaging at least 14 points, six rebounds, 3.5 assists, and two steals per game. Falslev eclipsed all those metrics, notching two steals to go along with his team-leading performance.

Utah State jumped out to an early 6-0 lead behind buckets from Falslev and Deyton Albury. UNLV started the game 0 for 5 shooting, but three offensive rebounds on one possession led to a UNLV and-one. Leading 6-3, the Aggies went on a 10-2 run to give them a 16-5 lead at the under-12 media timeout. Between scoring and passing, Falslev quickly got the Aggies started against the Rebels.

“It’s a credit to our big guys, for sure. [They] set the right screens, and guys like them making the right read — all I had to do was throw it over there,” Falslev said on his four early assists.

UNLV came out of the timeout firing, going on a 9-0 run to close the gap before a Martinez 3-pointer ended the Rebel run. The Rebels weren’t finished after just that run, though, and proceeded to score another eight unanswered to take a three-point lead, 22-19.

During UNLV’s 17-3 run, Utah State hit just one of its nine shot attempts, allowing the lead to slip away. Falslev, along with Tucker Anderson, quieted the UNLV run by leading the Aggies on a 10-2 run in which the duo scored all 10 points, giving Utah State a 29-25 lead with 2:17 remaining in the half.

The two teams traded baskets before Dexter Akanno hit a 3-pointer as the half expired to send USU into the locker room with a 36-29 lead.

Coming out of the break, USU pushed its lead to 10 before UNLV trimmed it to four after two 3-pointers from Jailen Bedford, who had 13 points for the Runnin’ Rebels.

Utah State and UNLV traded short runs for a few minutes leading into the under-16 media timeout, where the Aggies led 43-37.

Out of the timeout, the Aggies mounted a 7-0 run to take a 50-38 lead behind a layup from Falslev and Karson Templin’s putback layup and 3-pointer. After a made free throw from UNLV, Utah State got another quick four points from Templin and Drake Allen, making it an 11-1 USU run.

“[Templin] gets nine [points] and six [rebounds]. If you watch our team play, that’s what he’s done all year. He went through a little bit of a slump, but he’s had a tremendous sophomore season,” head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “I think every team needs a player like Karson Templin, and he’s only going to get better.”

Utah State’s defense also stepped up during that stretch, forcing multiple empty UNLV possessions and a couple of turnovers. The Rebels went over five minutes without making a field goal during Utah State’s run.

The Aggies kept the Rebels at bay the rest of the way, trading short scoring runs and extending their lead to as many as 14 while cruising to a 70-58 victory.

Utah State had a strong supporter presence inside the Thomas & Mack Center, with a significant portion of the 5,510 fans in attendance cheering for the Aggies.

“To see those students, over 500 students come here, is just absolutely incredible … We’ve got the best students in the country, and it’s a shame we can’t put them down low,” Calhoun said. “You could see all our fans wrapped all the way around, and that’s what makes Utah State one of the best jobs in the country. You have the best student section in the country and a fan base that expects to win in March.”

Utah State had a solid shooting performance against UNLV, hitting 46% of its shots and 32% of its 3-pointers. Apart from shooting, the Aggies had an uncharacteristic game taking care of the ball. USU averages over 17 assists per game and has one of the best assist-to-turnover ratios in the country.

Utah State had 12 assists and 13 turnovers, leading to 12 UNLV points.

“Obviously, this tournament’s survive and advance. I’ve been watching all these games inside the Thomas & Mack, and nobody’s really scoring the basketball,” Calhoun said after the game. “We were a little bit of a train wreck tonight with 12 assists and 13 turnovers — very uncharacteristic of our group.”

The Aggies also racked up 27 fouls and had two players foul out, giving the Rebels 37 free throw attempts and 29 points at the line.

“It’s hard, especially when we think we’re keeping our hands up, but that’s their whole game plan — was to isolate us and attack us and get to the free-throw line, and they did a good job of that,” Falslev said on the team’s foul troubles. “We’ve got to do better about fouling.”

Since their January victory over the Aggies, UNLV has lost a significant portion of its offensive production to injuries. The Rebels had only seven players play meaningful minutes, with two players playing the full 40 minutes and a third playing all but 20 seconds.

“That’s always the emphasis for us — is trying to outrun every team, and one of our strengths is to try and get in transition,” Martinez said. “If we could focus on just getting stops and getting in transition, we know we can be in our element and a problem in the game.”

With the 12-point win over the Runnin’ Rebels, Utah State advances to the semifinals of the tournament, where it will take on the Colorado State Rams. CSU is led by guard Nique Clifford, who tallied 25 points and 13 rebounds against Nevada in its quarterfinal game.

The Aggies are 1-1 against the Rams this season, including a 93-66 loss in their most recent matchup in Fort Collins on March 1.

Utah State will take on Colorado State on Friday night at 10 p.m. Mountain on CBS Sports.