The Bruins mauled the Aggies in March Madness, 72-47

Utah State University Men’s Basketball lost 72-47 to the UCLA Bruins on March 20 during the NCAA tournament. The game was held in Lexington, Kentucky and was the first round of March Madness. USU was seeded No.10 and UCLA No. 7 in the Midwest bracket. The game was attended by 16,258 fans. 

UCLA got the tip-off and first points of the game with a 3-pointer from Dylan Andrews. 

The Aggies got a 3-pointer from Mason Falslev to get on the board. They took the lead momentarily at 18:21 by three but quickly lost it to UCLA, who held it for the rest of the half. 

Eric Dailey Jr. fouled Falslev, marking the game’s first foul. Later in the first period, Aubin Gateretse gave the first foul from USU. 

The Aggies had a 6-0 run in the middle of the first half. Toward the end, that was met with an 8-0 run from the Bruins. 

At halftime, USU trailed behind UCLA, 39-27.  

A defensive rebound from Deyton Albury with a pass to and layup by Falslev led the Aggies to be the first scorers in the second half. Falslev led scoring for the Aggies with 17 points. 

A trade-in for Isaac Johnson early in the second half led to a rebound and pass to Falslev, who then made a jumper.  

After second-chance jumpers from both UCLA and USU, the Bruins led 47-33 at 15:42 when a time-out was called. Then, breaking an almost one-minute stalemate, Johnson made a 3-pointer. 

USU called a time-out as UCLA led 56-36 at 12:55. This lead was later extended by UCLA’s Skyy Clark making a 3-pointer. Clark and Dailey led scoring for the Bruins with 14 points each.   

The Aggies then faced a 6:51-minute scoring drought, which Dexter Akanno and a foul shot broke. After a back-and-forth, Utah State had an eight-point streak unanswered by UCLA.  

UCLA made several 3-pointers and layups, bringing the score to 68-47 with 2 minutes left in the game. They then scored several more points, ending the game 72-47. 

The Aggies’ 3-point shooting percentage was 12.9%. Falslev discussed why USU’s 3-pointer game was off. 

“You know, it’s hard to make threes when you’re rushed, and you know, it just didn’t fall,” Falslev said. “Unfortunately, you have to live with that.” 

Aggie head coach Jerrod Calhoun sang Falslev’s praises, claiming he’s in the top two players he’s ever coached.  

Throughout the game, both teams had some solid defense. Calhoun shared his thoughts in a post-game press conference.  

“I think a lot of the credit deserved tonight is with UCLA,” Calhoun said. “They’re an elite defensive team, but I thought the first half they made shots, you know, and so much this time of year is about shot-making, right? And when you don’t make shots, it affects your defense. One thing about UCLA is they don’t make shots — they’re going to keep guarding. They’re very, very tough, and if their guards play like that, they’ll make a deep run.” 

Calhoun shared while the loss pained him, he was still very proud of the team. 

“I also want to credit our guys. I thought, you know, putting a group of guys, nine or 10 new players, on a roster, winning 26 games, going to the NCAA tournament. Most seasons never end the way you want them to, right?” Calhoun said. “So, I think Aggie Nation obviously is hurting tonight, but this group, you know, really, really overcame a lot in a very short period of time. So we’re going to keep our heads up high.” 

In the press conference, the three seniors, Ian Martinez, Gateretse and Akanno, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to play for USU and said they would treasure the memories they made. 

“We didn’t finish the way we wanted it, but I mean, there’s a lot of great memories that have been built this last year,” Martinez said. “[I’ll] definitely miss Utah State. I mean, just the environment back at home, the people, my teammates, is definitely for me, especially with my journey, some of the most unforgettable years.” 

UCLA coach Mick Cronin congratulated the Aggies on a great season. 

“Congrats to Coach Calhoun, to Jerrod — my friend — and Utah State on a tremendous season,” Cronin said. 

The Bruins will advance to the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they will play the Tennessee Volunteers on March 22.