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Undefeated Utah State Pulls Away From North Texas Late

Nov 29, 2024, 6:40 PM

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ORLANDO, Florida โ€“ย Utah State didnโ€™t play its best basketball but found a way to hang on against a defensive-minded North Texas team in a 61-57 win.

Utah State advanced to the NIT Season Tip-Off championship after hanging on to beat St. Bonaventure on Thanksgiving. North Texas blew out Northern Iowa for a chance to face the Aggies.

RELATED: USU Stays Undefeated With Win Over St. Bonaventure

The third career-high in four games for Mason Falslev paced Utah State with 28 points, playing the entire second half. Ian Martinez added 12 points while knocking down seven free throws on a night when his shot wasnโ€™t falling.

First Half

Both offenses struggled in the opening 20 minutes. Neither team shot better than 35 percent, and North Texas grabbed a 25-23 lead at the break.

Sophomore Mason Flaslev led his team with ten points on 4-of-5 shooting in 15 minutes. Grad transfer Dexter Akanno came off the bench to add a bucket and six rebounds in 12 minutes. Ian Martinez struggled to 1-of-5 shooting against a stout Mean Green defense.

Point guard Atin Green led North Texas with 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting from deep.

Second Half

Utah Stateโ€™s defense prevailed in a hard-fought Aggie win. Despite scoring a season-low 61 points, USU improved to 7-0 with a 61-57 victory over the Mean Green.

Mason Falslev hit three threes on his way to 18 second-half points. Falslev showed his toughness several times by hitting tough shots and finishing whenever the Aggies needed a bucket down the stretch.

Utah Stateโ€™s defense limited North Texas to 36.1 percent shooting for the game and 23.3 percent from deep.

Following USU With KSL Sports Zone

Utah State returns to Logan for its Mountain West opener against the Wyoming Cowboys on Wednesday, December 4. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. MT.

Listen to USU basketball games onย KSL Sports Zoneย with Scott Garrard on the call.

Find KSL Sports coverage of Utah State University Athletics here.

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Brian Preece is a KSLSports.com insider covering Locals in MLB and the Salt Lake Bees. Follow Brianโ€™s Bees and Beehive baseballย here.

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Undefeated Utah State Pulls Away From North Texas Late