Utah State Aggies' Efforts Fall Short in High-Scoring Duel at The Pit
The Utah State Aggies, ranked 16th, faced a challenging contest against the unranked New Mexico Lobos, culminating in an 86-99 defeat. The Aggies now hold a record of 16-3 while the Lobos improved to 14-5. Despite a valiant effort and leading at halftime with a score of 39-55, the Aggies could not maintain their momentum in the second half.
The game was held at The Pit in Albuquerque where 13,106 fans witnessed an intense battle between two conference rivals. The Utah State Aggies showcased their offensive skills by scoring an impressive 46 points in the paint and adding another 19 from fast breaks. Their shooting from inside the arc was notable with a solid field goal percentage of fifty-one percent on two-point attempts.
Utah State's defense managed to block six shots but struggled to contain New Mexico's offense which shot fifty-seven percent from the field overall. Although they fought hard under the boards ending up with forty rebounds—eleven offensive and twenty-nine defensive—the Lobos outmatched them with sixty-two points scored inside.
On individual performances for Utah State, there were bright spots despite the loss. They saw significant contributions across their roster including twenty-two successful free throws out of thirty attempts for seventy-three percent accuracy. However, turnovers proved costly as both teams committed fourteen each; yet New Mexico capitalized more effectively scoring twenty points off turnovers compared to Utah State's eight.
The three-point line was not as kind to Utah State who made just four out of seventeen attempts resulting in twenty-four percent efficiency from beyond the arc. Assists were distributed evenly among players totaling fourteen but this did not translate into enough scoring opportunities to overcome their opponents' lead.
Looking ahead after this tough road game loss, Utah State will return home to host Fresno State Bulldogs at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on January 20th at 1:00 PM local time (Mountain Time). Fans can catch all the action live online via MW Network as both teams prepare for another conference showdown.