by: Wade Denniston, USU Athletic Media Relations
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Utah State's men's basketball team closed out the regular season with a 66-64 loss to New Mexico in front of a raucous crowd Saturday night at Dreamstyle Arena - The Pit.
Despite the loss, the Aggies (23-8, 12-6 Mountain West) earned the No. 2 seed for the upcoming MW Championships, which will be held March 4-7 at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev.
Utah State will play the winner of the seventh-seeded Lobos (18-13, 7-11 MW) and 10th-seeded San Jose State in the quarterfinals of the tourney on Thursday, at 7 p.m. (MT).
Senior guard
Sam Merrill and sophomore center
Neemias Queta scored 18 points apiece to lead Utah State against New Mexico on Saturday. Queta finished with a double-double as he also grabbed a game-best 14 rebounds.
The Aggies led 52-38 with 11:46 to go in the second half, but the Lobos ended the contest on a 28-12 run. Vance Jackson led the hosts on Senior Night with 17 points, while Corey Manigualt added 16 points.
Senior guard
Diogo Brito scored four straight points for the visitors to put the Aggies up 63-59 with less than two minutes to go. Brito finished with six points and handed out a game-best seven assists.
A 7-0 run by New Mexico gave the hosts the lead back for good.
Utah State committed 17 turnovers, which New Mexico turned into 23 points on the other end. The Lobos led 33-32 at halftime.
USU shot 47.2 percent from the field (25-of-53), including 36.8 percent from 3-point range (7-of-19). The Aggies, who outrebounded the Lobos 37-27, shot 77.8 percent from the charity stripe (7-of-9).
New Mexico shot 44.8 percent from the field (26-of-58), including 41.7 percent from downtown (10-of-24), and 50.0 percent from the free throw line (4-of-8).
Utah State men's basketball news and information is available on Facebook (facebook.com/usumensbasketball), on Twitter (@usubasketball) and on Instagram (@usubasketball). Fans can also get USU men's basketball highlights on YouTube (youtube.com/utahstateathletics). Aggie fans can follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter (@usuathletics), on Facebook (facebook.com/usuathletics) or on Instagram (@usuathletics).
-USU-