- Utah State defeated Memphis 99-75 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
- Aggies' coach Jerrod Calhoun praised his team's performance and strategic lineup changes.
- USU players MJ Collins Jr. and Karson Templin scored career-highs, contributing significantly.
LOGAN — It was a Valentine's Day to remember for the Aggie men's basketball team Saturday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Utah State broke a close game open late in the first half and was able to stay in front to the end against Memphis, 99-75, in the final non-conference game of the season for the Aggies. The hosts finished off their seventh straight win with a dunkfest to the delight of another sold out crowd of 10,270.
"When this thing fell into place and he (Memphis head coach Penny Hardaway) wanted to play it later in the year, we liked that date," USU head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. "… I thought the game was good for us. I'm really proud of the guys."
Switching to a small lineup to end the first half provided the spark to get the Aggies (22-3) in front for good after a tight first 16 minutes.
"I think we had Mason (Falslev) playing the four man," USU forward Karson Templin said. "We started getting out in transition and got some stops. … Our perimeter defense is really active on the ball. Sometimes shaking up the lineup works."
With several Aggies struggling, Calhoun decided to go small.
"That's what the game needed," Calhoun said. "I thought Kolby (King) and that group of guys during that stretch were tremendous. They were quicker to the ball. Sometimes pressure from little guys will bother you. That was a risk I was willing to take. We had to get some energy off that bench and it kind of flipped it.
"Memphis is an elite defensive team. They are top 30, 35 in the country."
Once again there were a plethora of fouls — 44 to be exact. There were 70 free throws attempted by the two teams combined.
"We came up with a lot of 50-50 balls tonight, that was the difference in the game," Calhoun said.
A trio of Aggies reached the 20-point mark on Stew Morrill Court. Guard MJ Collins Jr. led the way with 24, while Templin and Falslev added 20 each. It was a career high for Templin.
"I'm always happy to get a win, and I think we are on a little bit of a win streak right now," Templin said. "Let's just keep winning."
Asked about his 20-point outing, the junior admitted he was thinking about reaching that plateau when he matched his career-mark of 18. He got the opportunity with 1:32 to play when he was fouled. Templin made both foul shots, finishing off a perfect night at the line, going 10 of 10.
"I'm happy about that, but all credit to my teammates and God," Templin said. "Ten for 10 is pretty all right, I guess. Shoutout to my coaches. … I shoot every day with one of the coaches. I still have been missing, so it feels good for it to pay off. Hopefully I've found my touch at the line finally, because I am a good free throw shooter. I promise I am."
"I thought Templin played his best game of his career," Calhoun said. "… I give him a ton of credit. He had great rhythm and great confidence."
Templin also had some extra motivation to perform well as two former teammates were in attendance in Darius Brown and Great Osobar.
"I was begging Great to come to this game," Templin said. "I knew if he came out, I would have to put on my best face. I picked him up at the airport last night. We are pretty good buddies. He is one of my role models and one of my best friends. It was good to have him him. I'm trying to follow in his footsteps a little bit."
A fourth Aggie reached double digits and actually flirted with a double-double in guard Elijah Perryman. The freshman came off the bench to score 10 points and dish out a game-high nine assists when Drake Allen was dealing with foul trouble. He also came up with a career-high four steals.
"I thought Elijah Perryman came in at a critical stretch and really stepped up," Calhoun said. "… EP gets nine assists with one turnover against the Memphis Tigers. That is an elite defensive team. We don't win that game without Elijah Perryman."
Falslev led the team in the rebounding department with six.
Memphis (12-13) was led by Sincere Parker with 21 points off the bench and a game-best 10 rebounds. Curtis Givens III netted 18, and Dug McDaniel chipped in 10.
"We had them where we needed them until the last three minutes of the first half," Hardaway said. "We just need to understand, we just need to keep fighting. I just hope we're learning, we were right there in the game until the last three minutes if we go into halftime and make our adjustments. We fought for 17 minutes, and then we let go of the rope."
Buckets were hard to come by in the early going for both teams, but especially the Aggies. USU missed its first six shots from the field before Falslev scored off of an offensive rebound. The Aggies did make four free throws before the first field goal.
Memphis built a 5-1 lead three minutes into the game, but then it became a back-and-forth affair.
The Aggies did get back-to-back 3-pointers from Adlan Elamin and Falslev — both off Perryman passes — to take a 19-14 lead midway through the opening half.
The Tigers scored five straight points, however, to get back in front, 27-24 with five minutes until halftime.
After 12 lead changes and four ties, the hosts heated up. A pair of free throws by Templin, and a three-point play by Collins got USU back in front.
Over the final 3:28 of the first half, the Aggies outscored the Tigers 17-4. They used a pair of 7-0 runs. Collins hit a trey, swooped in for a layup on the break and Falslev brought the decibel love up with a one-handed dunk on a fast break off a pass from Perryman.
A Templin dunk started the second run of seven points. After a rebound bucket by Falslev, Templin drilled a 3-pointer off a pass from Collins.
"My shot feels good, so I'm shooting it," Templin said.
King hit a 3-pointer just before the break as the Aggies took a 48-34 lead into halftime.
The Tigers scored first to start the second half, but USU responded with another 7-0 spurt. Collins had the first four points, and Falslev drilled a shot from beyond the arc off a pass from Collins to give the hosts a 55-36 lead.
The Tigers clawed back to within eight points after a 12-2 run. With 13:23 to play, USU held a 63-55 advantage.
Memphis would then go exactly four minutes without scoring. The Aggies capitalized with 13 unanswered points. Templin started the run with a pair of free throws, Collins followed with a layup and Perryman kept it going with a steal and dunk.
After a timeout, Garry Clark scored off a pass from King, Falslev scored off a Perryman dime, and Perryman hit a very deep 3-pointer to beat the shot clock. The trey gave the hosts a 76-55 lead and brought out an "Up by 20-1" chant by the students.
Memphis fought back to within 86-73 with two minutes to play, but like the first half ended, the Aggies went off. USU finished the game with a 13-2 run. The final three buckets came from dunks. Collins had a rebound slam, King threw one down on the break, and Collins finished off the game with a windmill jam.
"The way the rules are written with the analytics, the last two baskets we would not have scored if this was a normal circumstance," Calhoun said. "The deck is stacked against mid-majors now. … Every possession is measured and we have to score the ball, unfortunately. We play by the rules. I would have never done that to coach Hardaway. There assistant, Mike Davis, is a good friend of mine. He said, 'Jerrod, I would have run it up too.'
"… Everything is on the line. We have three weeks, six games before the conference tournament. We are right there and need to be really good down the stretch."
