Courtesy of Utah State Athletics

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State men’s basketball concluded its final season in the Mountain West with a championship Saturday afternoon in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, defeating New Mexico 94-90 to secure the outright regular season championship and the No. 1-seed in the upcoming MW Tournament.

This is Utah State’s third all-time Mountain West championship, and its second outright title since joining the league in 2013. The Aggies had secured at least a share of the title prior to the game, but were able to prevent the second-place Lobos from claiming a share with the victory. This is the second time USU has won the MW title outright, joining the 2024 squad as the only Aggie teams to do so.

The Aggies conclude the 2025-26 regular season 25-6 overall and 15-5 in conference play. This is the 12th 25-win season in program history, and the first time the team has ever won 25-plus in four-straight seasons.

The senior class showed up in a big way on senior night, combining for 62 of Utah State’s 94 points in the contest. In his final game in the Spectrum, senior guard MJ Collins Jr. led the way as he went for 27 points with a season-best six rebounds, an assist and a steal. This was the second-best scoring performance of the season for Collins Jr.

Other seniors honored following the game included guards Drake Allen and Kolby King, and forwards Zach Keller and Garry Clark. Each senior gave a major contribution — Allen going for 14 points, Keller for eight, King finishing with seven and Clark going for six.

The Aggies led from nearly start-to-finish in the victory, leading for over 38 minutes while trailing for less than one. USU shot an efficient 50 percent from the field and found its rhythm from deep as well, connecting on 10-of-27 3-pointers. Despite the hot shooting, however, the Lobos held strong and remained in the contest throughout, shooting 48 percent on their end of the court.

Utah State set the tone early with 10 makes in its first 15 shots, opening up a double-digit advantage six minutes in at 17-7. The Aggies remained decisively in front through the rest of the half, until a 7-0 New Mexico run to close the half gave the Lobos their first and only lead of the contest, going into the locker room up 94-90.

The second half started the same as the first, the Aggies pouncing to quickly regain control. USU opened the final 20 minutes with a 12-2 run out of the gates, sparked by back-to-back triples from Collins Jr.

While the Aggies never took another double-digit lead, they remained on top the rest of the way. Despite a cold streak where it made just three of 13 shots, USU kept itself in control at the charity stripe, connecting on 83 percent of its free throws including going 18-of-21 in the second half.

Along with Collins Jr.’s big scoring performance, junior guard Mason Falslev showed out for the Aggies with 15 points, three boards and four assists. Junior guard Karson Templin provided a spark in 23 minutes off the bench, going for 15 points and five rebounds.

Allen accompanied his 14 points with a team-best seven assists, while also pulling down five boards, two steals and a block.

In total, Utah State shot 50.0 percent (27-of-54) from the floor, 37.0 percent (10-of-27) from 3-point range and 83.3 percent (30-of-36) at the charity stripe. New Mexico shot 47.5 percent (29-of-61) from the field, 44.8 percent (13-of-29) from behind the arc and 73.1 percent (19-of-26) at the free throw line.

UP NEXT
Utah State will now travel to Las Vegas for the Mountain West men’s basketball tournament, taking place next week from March 11-14 at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Aggies will be the No. 1-seed and will play at 1 p.m. (MT).

FOLLOW
For more information on Utah State’s men’s basketball program, follow the Aggies on Facebook at usumensbasketball, on Twitter at @usubasketball and on Instagram at @usubasketball. Fans can also watch USU men’s basketball highlights by visiting youtube.com/utahstateathletics.

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