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SALT LAKE CITY — There were some slams by both teams Saturday afternoon at the Delta Center, but in crunch time it was a pair of layups that provided the Aggies just what they needed in a tight finish against the Redbirds.
Utah State and Illinois State faced off in the second and final men's basketball game of the Salt Lake Slam, an event pitting teams against each other at a neutral site. The Aggies held off a late push by the Redbirds to notch a 83-78 victory.
"We played a great team; I thought Illinois State really, really battled," USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. "I have a lot of respect for those guys and have known them a long time. … I knew they would fight, and they never stopped. I believe that will be a Quad 2. I'm really proud of our guys."
In the first game of the Salt Lake Slam, Utah Valley beat UC Santa Barbara, 68-53. That contest took place before the Aggies (9-1) and Redbirds (8-3) tangled.
USU held the lead for more than 35 minutes of the game and was up 15 points at one time in the second half. Illinois State got within three with just under two minutes to play.
"We started off strong, and they (Redbirds) fought back in the second half," Aggie forward Garry Clark said. "They made runs, we made runs and we were able to finish it off."
Coming out of a timeout where the Redbirds had drilled a 3-pointer to beat the shot clock, the Aggies got a bucket from Mason Falslev on a drive to the hoop. After a missed Illinois State shot, Drake Allen then drove to the hole for two. The two layups gave USU some breathing room at 79-72 with 37 ticks left on the clock.
"Those were two winning plays," Calhoun said. "They are both big, strong guards and want to win. They care about winning."
The Redbirds did score six points during the final 27 seconds, but the Aggies were able to make enough free throws as MJ Collins Jr. went 4 of 6 from the foul line to seal the win. The loss ended a seven-game winning streak by Illinois State.
Collins led the Aggies with 20 points, making his first three 3-point shots of the game and finishing 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.
"He (Collins) is one of the top three or four players in the league," Calhoun said. "He is a natural scorer. He is a confident kid. … We have to count on him every night and he has done it every game this year."
Clark and Falslev joined Collins in double-digit scoring with 18 and 16 points, respectively. That duo led the team in rebounding with Clark grabbing eight and Falslev pulling down six. Clark was 7 of 8 from the field with his only miss being a 3-point attempt at the end of the shot clock. Clark also made all four of his free throw attempts.
"I was just doing my part; I've been in a little slump," Clark said. "I'm trying to build and get better. I know my role and rebounding is part of it. I just came out and tried to rebound as much as I could. … I hadn't shot one (3-pointer) all season and I was wide open, so I had to take it."
Zach Keller and Drake Allen each added nine points for the Aggies. Allen and Falslev each had four assists, while Falslev came up with four steals.
"I was really proud of Zach and Garry; those two kids had great weeks of prep," Calhoun said. "You get rewarded when you practice and worry about the right things. I made the decision about three days ago to start Zach Keller. I really believe in him. Hopefully, this is a break out game for him."
Challenged to rebound better this past week in practice, the Aggies did just that, outrebounding the Redbirds, 33-18. USU had 19 offensive boards, the most on that side of the court since 2020.
"We practiced all week on rebounding, put a huge emphasis on it this week, and I think it paid off," Calhoun said.
"There can't be a let down when I come in, so I was on every rebound I could," Clark said. "It worked out today."
Five Redbirds finished in double figures in scoring. Ty Pence led the way with a game-high 21 points on 8 of 9 shooting. He was joined by Landon Moore (14), Johnny Kinziger (13), Boden Skunberg (12) and Chase Walker (12). Kinziger had five assists, while Pence had four rebounds to lead their team in those categories.
"Coach had been preaching to us that they (Redbirds) weren't going to give up, so we knew that," Clark said. "When they made those runs, we just fought a little bit harder."
Illinois State scored first, but the Aggies answered with seven straight points as Keller took advantage of his first start at USU by scoring the first five points. Adlan Elamin also took advantage of starting with a steal and dunk to cap the early run.
The Aggies built a 13-6 lead six minutes in when Clark scored off of an offensive rebound.
The Redbirds fought back. A 12-4 surge fueled by a pair of 3-pointers by Skunberg put the designated visitors in front, 22-19, with eight minutes left in the opening half.
A Kolby King dunk sparked a 15-2 run by the Aggies, where the last 10 points were unanswered. Allen had a trey, Elamin threw down a pass from Collins, who then drilled a pair of 3-pointers off passes from Allen, who scored on a layup. The second trey by Collins gave USU a 34-24 lead at the 4:09 mark of the first half.
Then it was Illinois State's turn to go on a run. The Redbirds scored six straight to get within 34-30 on a layup by Pence with three minutes before the break.
The Aggies responded with six straight points as Allen threw down a dunk on a break when Tucker Anderson found him on a long pass. USU took a 40-33 lead into halftime.
Both teams dealt with turnovers over the first 20 minutes as the Redbirds had 10 and the Aggies nine. However, USU was able to outscore Illinois State, 16-10, on points off turnovers.
The Aggies scored two quick buckets to start the second half as Falslev found the bottom of the net in the paint and then found Keller for a layup as USU took its largest lead of the game to that point, 44-33.
Illinois State got to within six points, but then Collins drilled a 3-pointer, and Falslev turned a couple of steals into buckets, the second giving USU a 55-41 lead with 13:30 left in the contest.
Two-and-a-half minutes late King gave the Aggies their largest lead of the game, 62-47, with a 3-pointer off a pass from Jordy Barnes.
The Redbirds didn't wilt. They used a 9-2 run and then scored five straight points to get within 68-63 with seven minutes to play.
Collins hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game to give USU some breathing room again.
But Illinois State rallied again, and Calhoun was hit with a technical foul with 4:05 to play. Illinois State made both free throws, and then Moore drilled a 3-pointer with 1:57 to play to make it a 75-72 game.
"Coach has got it in him," Clark said with a laugh when asked about the technical. "I wasn't surprised. We had to help him out."
What did Calhoun do to get the T?
"I don't want to say too much about it, but it was actually a joke," Calhoun said. "I was telling the guy a joke, and the joke went bad."
Then USU got the two big layups from Falslev and Allen to the delight of the mostly Aggie crowd.
"It was amazing, it felt great out there," Clark said. "We had a huge crowd and it felt like a home game."
