Utah State Sweeps Nevada

A week after getting swept by Boise State, Utah State recovered in their series against Nevada, sweeping the Wolfpack. Utah State outscored Nevada in both halves, 39-23 in the first and 48-43 in the second to beat the Wolfpack 87-66.

Neemias Queta exploded with 26 points on 9-19 shooting and going 8-9 from the free throw line. He also had 13 rebounds (seven defensive, six offensive), six assists, a steal, a block, and three personal fouls. Justin Bean had 17 points on 5-10 shooting, going 1-3 from three (33.3%) and 6-6 from the free throw line. He also had 13 rebounds (seven defensive, six offensive), four assists, three steals, four turnovers, and three personal fouls. Alphonso Anderson scored 12 points on 4-10 shooting, going 1-5 from three (20%) and 3-3 from the free throw line. In addition to the points he had two rebounds, two steals, two turnovers, and two personal fouls. Marco Anthony put up 11 points on 4-8 shooting, going 0-2 from three and 3-4 from the free throw line. He had two rebounds (one defensive, one offensive), three assists, two blocks, and a personal foul. Brock Miller didn’t score any points, going 0-7 and 0-5 from three, and had a turnover and a personal foul.

Off the bench, Steven Ashworth put up nine points on 2-4 shooting and went 0-1 from three and 5-5 from the free throw line. He had a defensive rebound, four assists, and a personal foul. Max Shulga scored five points on 2-5 shooting (40%) and going 1-3 from three (33.3%). He also had eight rebounds (seven defensive, one offensive), two assists, four steals, two turnovers, and two personal fouls. Rollie Worster scored three points on 1-3 shooting (33.3%) and went 1-3 from three (33.3%). He had three rebounds (two defensive, one offensive), two assists, a steal, and four personal fouls.

As a team, Utah State shot 29-68 (42.6%) while Nevada shot 24-51 (47.1%). The Aggies went 4-22 from three (18.2%) while Nevada went 8-19 (42.1%). Utah State shot 25-27 from the free throw line (92.6%) while Nevada made 10-15 of their free throws (66.7%). The Aggies significantly outrebounded the Wolfpack with a 47-24 advantage and also had a fair number more assists, holding a 22-13 advantage. Utah State recorded 11 steals and three blocks, committing 12 turnovers, while Nevada had seven steals and three blocks, committing 19 turnovers. The Wolfpack had 19 fouls compared to Utah State’s 17 fouls.

The largest lead in the game for the Aggies was 26 points. This wasn’t a very good game at all by Nevada considering they were outrebounded by over 20 rebounds and the largest lead of the game for Nevada was two points. Something to consider for Utah State moving forward is improving on the three point shooting percentage. Going 4-22 is not going to cut it, especially in important conference tournament games against teams such as Boise State, Colorado State, and San Diego State. Despite the sweep by Boise State, the Aggies still look like a strong team and they will have to keep themselves focused as Selection Sunday draws near very day.