Pffft! Great start, but rotten finish
Queta spearheads Utah State’s lopsided win over UNM men
LOGAN, Utah — There was no room on the Lobos’ roster last summer when Neemias Queta was talking with University of New Mexico men’s basketball coaches.
Whether he would have joined the Lobos is guesswork.
What isn’t in question is the Utah State Aggies have the best freshman in the Mountain West Conference, and Queta looked like he was trying to make a point to the Lobos on Wednesday night in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The the 6-foot-11 Portuguese sensation scored 23 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, blocked three shots and taunted and trash-talked the Lobos at every opportunity in a 71-55 statement win for the Aggies in front of an announced crowd of 6,273.
USU (21-6, 11-3 Mountain West) took over sole possession of second place in the conference standings, thanks to some help from the Air Force Falcons, who pulled off a road upset and beat Fresno State, dropping the Bulldogs to 10-4.
UNM falls to 11-15 overall and 5-9 in league play with four games remaining before the March 13 Mountain West tournament in Las Vegas, Nev.
UNM opened the game on fire Wednesday night, using an early 14-2 run while the Aggies hit only three of their first 16 shots. But Queta was the one constant. At the under 8-minute media timeout in the first half, UNM led 20-15 and all 15 USU points had been scored by Queta (5-of-7 shooting) and Quinn Taylor (2-of-4). The rest of the Aggies roster to that point was 0-for-14 shooting.
USU led 35-32 at the break and added to that lead steadily throughout the second half as the old weaknesses of the Lobos — inability to pass with control and turnovers — took over. Meanwhile, the Spectrum crowd, or at least the student section, grew louder and louder — and Queta’s emotions grew more and more boisterous — as the game went on.
USU scored 23 points off 18 UNM turnovers and had 25 second-chance points off 16 offensive rebounds. The Aggies outrebounded UNM 42-38.
Anthony Mathis led the Lobos with 20 points and hit 4-of-9 3-point tries, but was also one of five Lobos with multiple turnovers. Four Lobos had three or more turnovers with Corey Manigault and Keith McGee each committing four.
No other Lobo scored in double figures and UNM shot 40.0 percent in the game (20-of-50).
NOTES: Lobos senior guard Dane Kuiper did not make this week’s trip to Utah due to recurring knee tendinitis problems that also cost him two games (Dec. 18 vs. North Texas and Dec. 22 vs. Penn) earlier in the season. It is unclear when he will return. …
With 17:37 left in the second half, following a tough finish at the rim by Manigault, the Lobos junior was called for a technical foul as Queta fell to the floor. It is unclear if Manigault said something or if it was determined there was contact that made Queta fall, though replays didn’t seem to indicate physical contact typically resulting in a technical foul call. Merrill hit both technical free throws and USU led 39-34. …
After struggling with layups of late and facing the No. 3 nationally ranked defense against 2-point shooting on Wednesday night, the Lobos hit 9 of 17 layups on Wednesday to just 7-of-25 by USU.