Utah State men’s basketball secured an 83-78 victory over Illinois State on Saturday at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, improving its record to 9-1 ahead of Mountain West play. The Aggies dominated the boards and moved the ball effectively, pulling down 33 rebounds to Illinois State’s 18, including 19 offensive rebounds—the most by a Utah State team since 2020. Senior forward Garry Clark led the effort with eight total rebounds, seven on the offensive glass, while scoring 18 points and adding two assists and two steals.
Senior forward Zach Keller made his first start of the season and reached a scoring high within five minutes, contributing seven of Utah State’s first 11 points. Keller finished with nine points and four rebounds in 15 minutes on the floor.
Utah State trailed by multiple possessions early, but Illinois State only briefly tied the game at 5:39 in the first half. A 10-0 run by the Aggies pushed the lead to double digits, which Utah State maintained through halftime, leading 40-33. Senior guard MJ Collins Jr. paced the team with 10 first-half points.
Early in the second half, Utah State built its largest lead of the night at 62-47, only for the Redbirds to respond with a 16-5 run. Illinois State cut the margin to a single possession at 75-72 with two minutes remaining, but the Aggies made their final two field goals and added four free throws in the last 23 seconds to seal the win. Collins Jr. finished with a team-high 20 points, marking his sixth 20-plus point game of the season.
Junior guard Mason Falslev contributed 16 points, six rebounds, four assists, and four steals. Utah State forced 17 Illinois State turnovers, recording eight steals as a team. The Aggies led for 35 minutes and 11 seconds, trailing for only 2:37 during the game.
Utah State shot 52.5 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from three-point range, and 80 percent from the free throw line. Illinois State shot 58.8 percent from the floor, 35.7 percent from three, and 81.3 percent at the charity stripe.
The Aggies will return to Logan next week to open Mountain West play, hosting Colorado State on Saturday, December 20, at noon at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The game will be streamed on Mountain West Network and broadcast locally on KMYU.
