USU overcomes turnovers, Lobos, to advance to MW semifinal
LAS VEGAS — In the final 3 minutes and 14 seconds of Utah State’s quarterfinal matchup against New Mexico, the Aggies outscored the Lobos 15-5 to secure a 91-83 win.
The rest of the game prior to those final three minutes or so is something USU head coach Craig Smith and his players would rather forget.
Turnovers nearly ended the Mountain West tournament run before it had a chance to get off the ground. USU gave the ball away a staggering 15 times in the first half and 24 total on the night. That marked a season high and most in more than nine seasons.
“We weren’t very smart today, obviously, in the first half,” said forward Justin Bean. “We didn’t play our basketball, turning the ball over more than we usually do.”
Brock Miller and Anthony Mathis fight for the ball in the first half. The Aggies lost the ball 15 times in the first 20 minutes. – Photo by Savy Knapp
“We showed a little bit of rust,” said guard Sam Merrill, “and it felt like we only had 24 turnovers compared to how we felt. I felt like we had 35, 40 turnovers.”
A large portion of those giveaways came about due to New Mexico’s full-court press, which UNM head coach Paul Weir has not utilized much this season until the tournament. It forced the Aggies to play at a quicker pace and, as a result, they rushed many plays and threw the ball into the waiting hands of the Lobos.
“I didn’t help our guys enough with our press break,” Smith said.
With 15:08 left to go in the second half USU hit a low point. Anthony Mathis had just nailed a 3-pointer that sent Lobos prancing down the court, hands raised to the sky in a salute the the thousands of New Mexico fans gathered in the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Smith called a timeout in an attempt to rally his troops down 52-44 and gave his team a pep talk on something they’d heard before, but absolutely had to apply in that moment with their NCAA tournament hopes potentially on the line.
“We talked about NBA,” Smith said. “For us, NBA means ‘next best action.’ When you get to tournament play and March Madness and this and that, it’s always about the next best play.”
Exemplifying that mentality were players like Abel Porter, Bean and especially Diogo Brito. Brito went scoreless in the first half and had five turnovers and two personal fouls. In the second, the Portuguese guard had 14 points, zero turnovers and a crucial swipe and steal from Vance Jackson in crunch time.
Diogo Brito drives past New Mexico’s Corey Manigault. – Photo by Savy Knapp
“Diogo, he’s the next best action guy,” Bean said. “He’s not too worried when he makes mistakes. He’s always looking to the next play.”
Brito wasn’t the only player who shook off the rust in terms of passing and ball protection in the second half. The Aggies had just nine giveaways in the latter half and just one in the final six minutes of the game. The team’s improved press break played a big role in that.
“We made some adjustments at halftime and changed,” Smith said. “We have a bunch of different press breakers, but we started utilizing a couple other ones that we should have been in earlier, quite frankly.”
Even when turnovers weren’t killing the Aggies, foul trouble forced Smith’s hand in lineup changes. Merrill, who hasn’t left the court during a game since Feb. 20, missed five minutes including four midway through the second half. That didn’t bother the recently christened Mountain West Player of the Year, though.
“There’s been multiple times this year where I’ve been out of the game and we’ve gone on runs,” Merrill said. “Personally, I’d like to be out there, but I have all the confidence in the world (in the team).”
Merrill still managed to lead his team in points despite the relative dearth in minutes. He finished with 23 to go with a team-high nine assists and just one turnover. Bean also had a standout game, setting new career highs in both points (14) and rebounds (15) in 22 minutes of play filling in for Quinn Taylor who played just 16 due to fouls.
After overcoming the New Mexico press, the fouls, the frustrations, the runs and the abnormally large travelling Lobo crowd, Utah State had to finish off the game in those final minutes. Abel Porter gave the Aggies the lead for good with an and-one with just over three to play. But that lead didn’t stay without defensive effort and some free throws.
Utah State attempted eight shots from the charity stripe in the final two minutes (eight of 45 total) and sank seven of them. Bean personally went 5 of 6 in those crucial minutes.
“I saw my family just sitting in the right section of the bleachers,” Bean said. “So that always helped, having them here from Oklahoma. And my teammates as well. They just kept telling me to knock these in. So their confidence as well as coach’s meant the world to me and so I was able to get it done.”
Neemias Queta quietly also had himself a stellar night. The Defensive Player of the Year tied a career high with six blocks and scored 12 of his 16 points in the second half.
Utah State Aggies center Neemias Queta (23) is fouled by New Mexico Lobos forward Corey Manigault (1) on a shot in the second half of Thursday’s game (Megan Beth Media)
“He had that look in his eye,” Smith said of Queta. “He really wanted it, and he was a very, very determined individual.”
The Aggies will move on to face Fresno State on Friday in the semifinal of the Mountain West tournament — just the second time USU has made it this far in the MW era. Utah State split the season series with the Bulldogs, losing at home 78-77 and winning at Fresno 82-81. That game will tip off at 8:30 p.m. and 9:30 MT.