Offense Breaks Down, USU Men’s Hoops Fall to UNLV
As the saying goes, whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Unfortunately, the NCAA selection committee doesn’t see it that way.
On a night where the offense looked completely disoriented, Utah State men’s hoops (12-5) shot their worst field goal percentage of the season (32.8) and fell to UNLV (6-6) 59 to 56, – a major set back for a team with aspirations for a conference championship and an at-large birth in the NCAA tournament.
Down 57-48 with 1:17 to play, the Aggies went on an 8-2 run in a desperate attempt to come back, but a final heave by Steven Ashworth was blocked at the buzzer.
“On the offensive end we gotta find a way to get better,” said head coach Craig Smith. “We got a lot of things whether it’s scheme or personnel…I dont know how many clean looks we had that we just couldn’t make, we just couldn’t make them, and then other times – we just forced the issue.”
A primary cause of the woes was UNLV’s ability to limit junior Neemias Queta. Center Cheikh Mbacke Diong fronted Queta most of the night, holding him off the block and keeping him to just 3-9 from the field. With Queta out of the picture, the rest of the team struggled to step up, as the Aggies shot 5-22 (22.7 percent) from three and had 17 turnovers. Marco Anthony would lead the Aggies with 18 but was still inefficient, just 5-15 from the field.
“If they’re going to face guard one guy then theoretically you’re playing four on four with the other guys which should always be the advantage to the offense,” said Smith. “But we didn’t make them pay…Other guys gotta step up to the plate.”
Smith called the game “A tale of two halves,” an accurate assessment. The opening nine minutes was a two-man show for the Aggies, with Marco Anthony and Neemias Queta combing for 15 points while the rest of the team was 0-5 with zero points. USU held a lead a two-point lead at that point because they force ten Runnin’ Rebels missed shots on 15 attempts, including a tremendous chase-down block off the backboard from Queta.
But backed by hot shooting from Rebel forward Moses Wood and guard Blake Hamilton, the Rebel offense got rolling. The hosts managed to find open looks for themselves hit 8 of 16 three-point attempts.
“We just really couldn’t get stops and hold them to like what we’re capable of,” said Anthony. “They were getting a lot of easy looks.”
USU found good looks as well, but couldn’t hit them, shooting just 3 of 13 from beyond the arch.
“In the first half we had any three we wanted and just couldn’t throw it in the ocean,” said Smith.
Seven offensive rebounds kept the Aggies competitive. With 2:42 remaining, Anthony followed a missed shot by ripping the rebound out of Mbacke Diong’s hands and dished it to junior Justin Bean for a layup. USU trailed 39-34 at the break.
They opened the second half with a Brock Miller three-pointer, and it appeared things were turning in the Aggies favor. But moments later all of the scoring went to a screeching halt.
From 15:56 to 3:56 to play, Utah State failed to make a field goal. They had plenty of opportunities. Sophomore Sean Bairstow had a steal and had a path for any easy bucket before inexplicably fumbling the basketball. Queta missed a point-blank putback. Nothing was falling.
“We couldn’t get anything going,” said Anthony. “I feel like there were a lot of easy shots we missed, especially in the paint.”
But despite the astonishing ineptitude offensively, USU found themselves with a chance late, thanks to their on ball defense, holding UNLV to 6 of 30 from the field in the second half.
“I am proud of how we guarded in the second half,” said Smith. We guarded at a high high level made a couple of adjustments.”
UNLV still found shots down the stretch that gave them a healthy lead. Guard Caleb Grill hit a three to go up 56 to 48 with 1:48 later. Moments later, Miller tried to intentionally foul UNLV guard David Jenkins Jr. and got called for a technical. Down nine with 1:19 remaining, it seemed all but over.
But the Aggie clawed back. Anthony got fouled and hit two free throws. USU then proceeded to a full-court press and forced a turnover, resulting in a Bean layup that made the score 57-52 with 58 seconds to play.
On the ensuing possession, UNLV’s Nicquel Blake missed a wide-open dunk, and Bean was fouled on the other end, hitting two free throws. Then, UNLV traveled, giving the Aggies the ball back, down one possession with 29 seconds to play.
USU tried to get a shot for Miller out of a timeout but failed to execute and it blew up. Making something out of nothing, Anthony drove and got to the line, hitting two free throws and cutting it to one. Jenkins Jr. then hit two free throws with seven seconds remaining. Ashworth’s prayer at the buzzer was blocked by Wood.
“The games never over until the final buzzer rings and we really value that,” said Anthony. “That run just shows the heart that we had, although we didn’t get it done we could’ve easily hung our head…but we just kept playing.”
The Aggies will regroup and prep for game two against UNLV on Wendesday night.