Pane leads Aggies to sweep of New Mexico State
Heading into their game on the road against the other Aggies of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in New Mexico State, the Utah State Aggies knew they would have a battle on their hands.
The margin may have been too close for comfort, but Utah State escaped the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, N.M., with a 58-54 victory. Junior guard Tyler Newbold nearly reached a double-double with 10 points and nine rebounds to lead the Aggies, and the zone defense applied by Utah State frustrated New Mexico State all night. With the victory, the Aggies (27-3, 14-1 WAC) notched their best start in team history.
“I always feel comfortable playing here and I’ve always shot well here,” Newbold said. “I just try to shoot a few up, and a lot of them went in tonight so it felt really good.”
Newbold didn’t shoot very well in the first half, though. Both sides struggled mightily on the offensive end. Utah State only connected on 41 percent of shots from the field and didn’t hit a single 3-point goal in the first half. USU did hold the other Aggies to 37.5 percent from the field and 20 percent from 3-point range.
“We played our defense pretty tight,” Aggie head coach Stew Morrill said. “We doubled the post. It gave them problems getting the easy post move. Our defense was solid for the most part. We got some deflections and had some active hands.”
Utah State forced New Mexico State into eight turnovers in the first half, and held junior forward Troy Gillenwater to just nine points. Aside from Gillenwater, New Mexico State had only three other players score during the first 20 minutes. Utah State owned the advantage in the post at halftime by a margin of 18-0.
“It was a game similar to the one in Logan, very physical, low scoring, just one of those kinds of games, and on the road oftentimes it’s good because it gives you a chance,” Morrill said.
Gillenwater hit a jumper with six minutes to play to give New Mexico State one of its few lead. On the ensuing possession, Newbold responded with a jumper of his own to spark a 12-4 Utah State run to close out the half, 27-21.
Seniors Nate Bendall and Tai Wesley would lead Utah State in scoring at the end of the first half with seven and six points respectively. Newbold had four points and two rebounds at half, but he would make his presence felt in the second stanza.
Easy lay-ups from Bendall and Wesley pushed Utah State’s advantage to nine early in the second half, but USU wouldn’t be able to hold on to its lead. New Mexico State had cut the lead to four points off a lay-up from junior guard Hernst Laroche, when junior guard Brian Green, who finished with a quiet seven points off the bench, hit a 3-pointer to push the lead back to seven with 11:40 to play.
New Mexico State would call timeout go on a 8-0 run that featured two 3-pointers from senior guard Gordo Castillo, and a lay-up from sophomore forward Tyrone Watson.
“They’re really tough to beat here,” Newbold said. “They always play well here.”
The situation for the visiting Aggies would only become more difficult as New Mexico State pushed their lead to five points and seemed to have Utah State on its heels with 7:33 to play. Much of Utah State’s difficulty to score over that span can be attributed to New Mexico State’s stingy full-court press.
“We struggled against their press,” Morrill said. “We knew they were going to press us. They always cause turnovers down here. We prepared for it, but when you get in a game situation and we struggled a little bit against it. Once we got that solved, things started to happen.”
Newbold said, “They pressured us a lot and Brock(eith) did a great job.”
Pane, who finished with a team-high 12 points, came through for Utah State in the final minutes when it really needed it. It was Pane who found Newbold for two huge 3-point goals late in the game.
“Tyler (Newbold) just had a monster game,” Morrill said. “When you look at his stats, his rebounds, his defensive effort; he just did a marvelous job.”
Newbold’s 3-pointer with 6:30 to play tied the game at 43-apiece, and his trey with 2:13 to play pushed Utah State’s advantage to seven points. New Mexico State would push the visiting Aggies to their edge however, as they cut the lead to two with 22 seconds left to play off a dunk from freshman center Tshilidzi Nephawe.
In the end it was Pane who calmly stepped to the line with 14.4 seconds to play and sank two free-throws to seal the victory. “This is a tough-minded group,” Morrill said. “They just seem to find a way. They need to feel good about it, because it’s a good solid win.”
After grinding out a tough road victory, reflecting on the best start in school history is just as special for Morrill and his crew.
“I look at the record and just shake my head, because there have been a lot games like this, and that’s the way it is on the road,” Morrill said. “You’re not just going to walk in and blow people out. For these guys to find 27 wins is a special thing, and knock on wood that we can keep it going.”
USU will conclude its season in Ruston, La., against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. Tip-off for that game is slated for 5 p.m.
– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu