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.

-USU-

The Pentagon and the Federal Aviation Administration agreed to conduct anti-drone laser tests in New Mexico after the military’s deployment of the lasers led the FAA to suddenly close airspace in Texas twice in the last month.

The newly announced testing was being carried out to “specifically address FAA safety concerns,” the military said Friday in a statement. It was to take place Saturday and Sunday at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

Lawmakers were concerned about an apparent lack of coordination after the Pentagon allowed U.S. Customs and Border Protection to use an anti-drone laser in early February without notifying the FAA. The federal agency that ensures safety in the skies decided to close the airspace over El Paso for a few hours, stranding many travelers.

The Trump administration said it was working to halt an incursion by Mexican cartel drones, which are not uncommon along the southern border.

On Feb. 26 the U.S. military used the laser to shoot down a “seemingly threatening” drone flying near the U.S.-Mexico border. It turned out the drone belonged to Customs and Border Protection, lawmakers said.

The incident led the FAA to close the airspace around Fort Hancock, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) southeast of El Paso.

“We appreciate the coordination with the Department of War to help ensure public safety,” the FAA said of the testing, in a separate statement. “The FAA and DOW are working with interagency partners to address emerging threats posed by unmanned aircraft systems while maintaining the safety of the National Airspace System.”

The military is required to formally notify the FAA when it takes any counter-drone action inside U.S. airspace.

Illinois Democratic Sen. Tammy Duckworth, the ranking member on the Senate’s Aviation Subcommittee, called previously for an independent investigation after the two February incidents.

New Mexico Lobos (22-8, 13-6 MWC) at Utah State Aggies (24-6, 14-5 MWC)

Logan, Utah; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: New Mexico takes on Utah State after Deyton Albury scored 22 points in New Mexico’s 82-74 loss to the Colorado State Rams.

The Aggies have gone 13-1 in home games. Utah State scores 82.7 points and has outscored opponents by 12.2 points per game.

The Lobos are 13-6 in conference matchups. New Mexico is second in the MWC allowing 70.1 points while holding opponents to 41.7% shooting.

Utah State makes 50.1% of its shots from the field this season, which is 8.4 percentage points higher than New Mexico has allowed to its opponents (41.7%). New Mexico scores 9.9 more points per game (80.4) than Utah State gives up to opponents (70.5).

The teams square off for the second time this season in MWC play. Utah State won the last matchup 86-66 on Feb. 5. Mason Falslev scored 19 points points to help lead the Aggies to the victory.

TOP PERFORMERS: Michael Collins Jr. is scoring 17.3 points per game with 2.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists for the Aggies. Falslev is averaging 15.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 50.0% over the past 10 games.

Jake Hall is shooting 48.6% and averaging 15.8 points for the Lobos. Antonio Chol is averaging 1.3 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Aggies: 7-3, averaging 79.5 points, 28.5 rebounds, 16.6 assists, 7.2 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 47.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.4 points per game.

Lobos: 6-4, averaging 79.8 points, 32.0 rebounds, 14.0 assists, 7.0 steals and 2.6 blocks per game while shooting 47.6% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 74.6 points.

___

The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.