Aggies falter in loss at New Mexico
The Utah State University men’s basketball team descended into the depths of The Pit Arena on Saturday night, to face the New Mexico Lobos.
In the 66-64 loss — Utah State’s eighth of the season — was a battle from start to finish and didn’t see an Aggie lead until six minutes into the game. The team faced ejections, cold streaks and turnovers as time on the clock ticked away, getting closer to the team’s demise.
Porter gets ejected
The Aggies had a curveball thrown at the team late in the game, with 5:15 remaining in the second half. In an effort to make a stop on a fast break, junior guard Abel Porter made hard contact with a New Mexico player and sent them both flying to the ground. Porter was called for a flagrant 2 foul and was ejected from the game. This left Utah State without their primary point guard for the rest of the night, forcing senior guard Sam Merrill to fill the spot.
New Mexico climbs back
With 11:46 left in the game, the Aggies had a comfortable 14 point lead on the Lobos. But, as has happened many times this season, Utah State allowed its opponent to go on an offensive run which quickly resulted in the loss of that lead.
Late game drama
After this, the Aggies battled back and forth with New Mexico, until the final seconds. With less than one second left, New Mexico’s Makuach Maluach was sent to the free throw line after being fouled by junior forward Alphonso Anderson.
Maluach missed the free throw and sophomore forward Justin Bean grabbed the rebound. Bean launched the ball across the court as time expired, but to no avail. The shot bounced off the backboard, making the Lobos Saturday’s victors.
In spite of the loss, Utah State managed to produce 32 points in the paint. sophomore center Neemias Queta led the team with 18 points and 14 rebounds and Merrill added 18. The team also out-rebounded the Lobos 37-27.
What seemed to give the Lobos the upper hand was three-point shooting. New Mexico drained 10 three-pointers on Saturday while the Aggies only made seven. And while Utah State’s field goal percentage of 47.2 was slightly higher than New Mexico’s 44.8 percent, the Lobos took just a few more shots than Utah State.
Though he managed to hit a big three-pointer later in the game, senior guard Diogo Brito struggled during the loss. He shot 14.3 percent, as well as 1 out of 7 on field goals.
Down, but not out
The loss may prove to be a tough blow for Utah State, who is still trying to secure a place in the NCAA tournament. While it’s hard to say how much the loss to New Mexico will affect the team’s chances for an at-large bid, it certainly adds significance to Utah State’s performance in the Mountain West tournament.
Next up: Mountain West tourney
Utah State sits at the number two seed in the Mountain West Tournament and will play the winner of the New Mexico-San Jose State game in Las Vegas on Thursday, March 5.