USU MBB: Bairstow, big first half send Lobos packing
LOGAN — Utah State Men’s Basketball put in a 46-point first half to get past New Mexico 84-73 on Wednesday night. The win will count as the Aggies’ first Quadrant One victory of the season, pending where the Lobos end up in the NET rankings after the loss.
“Big statement win for us,” guard Sean Bairstow said. “It shows that we belong like we have believed all season that we do.”
Bairstow led the Aggies with a career-high tying 20 points. He shot 67% from the field and hit two 3-pointers while grabbing five rebounds and dealing two assists. Bairstow said he was happy with his performance.
“I was just playing basketball and not overthinking too much,” Bairstow said. “Just playing and seeing what happens.”
USU’s strong offensive first half started with a 9-0 run after New Mexico made the first bucket.
After trading baskets for a few minutes, the teams swapped runs starting with a 10-0 USU run led by six points from forward Dan Akin. New Mexico responded with a 14-2 run featuring Lobo guard Javonté Johnson drilling two 3-pointers. The Aggies bounced back by finishing the first half outscoring the Lobos 18-4 in the last five minutes, sending USU to the locker room with a 19-point lead. Guard Max Shulga poured in two triples during the stretch.
The start of the second half went New Mexico’s way as they chipped USU’s lead down to eight points midway through the half. The Lobos were guided by guard Jaelen House who scored his 14 points in the second half after getting his first bucket of the game three minutes into the half.
Two additional threats for the Lobos were guard Jamal Mashburn Jr. and forward Morris Udeze who combined for 33 points in the game but needed 32 shots to do so.
“You’re not going to shut them out,” USU head coach Ryan Odom said. “They’re good players and I thought our guys did a nice job of making it as hard as we possibly could.”
In the final ten minutes, the Aggies were able to keep their lead around double-digits with points in the paint and at the free-throw line. Utah State shot 31 free throws, making 27 of them, compared to New Mexico’s 16 chances and 11 makes. The differential bothered Lobo head coach Richard Pitino after the game.
“At the end of the day, they made 27 free throws to our 11 and that really hurts us,” Pitino said. “I’m not saying it’s a bad whistle but when you’re giving up 16 points at the foul line, it’s tough.”
Another factor in the Aggies’ win, according to Odom, was the energy from the HURD, USU’s student section. It was weighing on Odom’s mind enough that it was the first thing he mentioned in his post-game press conference.
“We can’t do what we do or win at the level that we aspire to win at without them,” Odom said. “That’s really special for our guys, special for our students, special for our university to have that type of atmosphere.”
The student section was at capacity before tipoff, bolstered by the Spectrum Magic night promotion, which provided students with free t-shirts matching the color of the arena’s seat given out. Bairstow said the crowd was in his personal top three that he’s seen at the Spectrum.
“The crowd was great tonight,” Bairstow said. “That was big time. They definitely helped to get us going and we definitely fed off their energy.”
The Aggies are now 18-5, 7-3 in Mountain West play with the victory. Utah State heads to Fort Collins, Colorado on Saturday for a contest with Colorado State. The game tips at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on Aggie Radio 92.3 FM.
Featured image by Elise Gottling.