3 keys in the Utah State Aggies’ 32-point win over the New Mexico Lobos

Utah State center Neemias Queta (23) motions to the crowd after scoring a basket against New Mexico during an NCAA basketball game, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2019, in Logan. | Eli Lucero/Herald Journal, AP

The Utah State Aggies continued their blitz through the bottom dwellers of the Mountain West to open conference play on Wednesday night, beating the New Mexico Lobos 77-45 in Lubbock, Texas (the Lobos have relocated there for home games because of the pandemic).

Here are three keys from the contest:

• The Lobos actually led by five at 11-6 with 12:45 to play in the first half, but the Aggies tied it over the next 56 seconds. Up 18-15 with 8:56 to go in the stanza, Utah State closed on a 23-3 run to break things open, with Saquan Singleton being the only New Mexico player who scored in that time.
• At halftime, Utah State was shooting 50% to New Mexico’s 20%, and defensively, the Aggies had a 5-0 advantage in steals (13-3 in turnovers overall) and a 5-1 edge in blocked shots. For the night, Utah State finished exactly 50% from the field (28 of 56) and the Lobos shot 28% (15 of 54). The teams finished tied with seven steals each, but the Aggies maintained the blocks advantage, finishing with an 8-3 edge. New Mexico committed 17 turnovers and Utah State 13.
• In the first half, Aggie big man Neemias Queta led the way with 10 points, three blocks and a rebound, while Utah State held Lobos leading scorer Makuach Maluach to just three points. For the game, Queta led all scorers with 18 points (with five rebounds and three blocks). Marco Anthony added 15 for the Aggies and Alphonso Anderson scored 14. Keith McGee was the only New Mexico player to finish in double figures, scoring 10 points. Maluach scored just seven.

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