BOISE, Idaho - Utah State junior center Neemias Queta scored a career-high 32 points and moved into a tie for 10th in school history with 22 career double-doubles as he finished with 10 rebounds against Boise State on Wednesday night. However, despite the strong individual performance Utah State lost the contest against the Broncos, 79-70.
Queta was joined in double figures by redshirt junior Marco Anthony with 11 points and junior forward Justin Bean with 10 points. Freshman guard Steven Ashworth made his first collegiate start, replacing an injured Rollie Worster in the starting lineup, and played in a career-high 33 minutes and led the Aggies with six assists.
Utah State (14-6, 11-3 MW) went into halftime with a 39-37 lead and connecting well from the floor after shooting 51.6 percent (16-of-31) over the opening 20 minutes. The Broncos (17-4, 13-3 MW) led for much of the first half until a 3-ball by Ashworth tied the game at 22-22 with 8:55 on the clock. The Aggies tied the game two more times over the course of the half before making it over the hump and taking a 33-31 lead behind a pair of free throws by Queta with 2:36 to play.
The final two minutes of the half was a back-and-forth affair before a final layup by Bean gave the Aggies their 39-37 lead going into the break.
Utah State continued to hold a lead late into the second half as senior forward Alphonso Anderson knocked down a triple with 11:35 on the clock, giving the Aggies a 54-51 advantage. A dunk by Anderson on the Aggies' next possession gave Utah State a 56-54 lead before the teams played to a 60-60 deadlock with just over eight minutes to play. Boise State then used a 14-6 run over the next five minutes to build an eight-point cushion, 74-66, with 3:26 to play. A pair of free throws by Queta cut the margin to six, 74-68, with just over three minutes to play, but it was as close as the Aggies got down the stretch.
Derrick Alston led the Broncos with 26 points and was joined in double figures by Marcus Shaver Jr. with 12 points. Mladen Armus led Boise State on the glass with seven rebounds before fouling out with three minutes to play.
Utah State finished the game shooting 46.0 percent (29-of-63) from the floor, 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from behind the 3-point line and 69.2 percent (9-of-13) at the free throw line. Boise State wrapped up its night shooting 44.4 percent (28-of-63) from the floor, 34.8 percent (8-of-23) from behind the 3-point line and 88.2 percent (15-of-17) at the free throw line.
The teams return to the court of Extra Mile Arena on Friday night to play the second of the two-game set a 8 o'clock. Fans can watch the game live on Fox Sports 1 (Xfinity Ch. 265/HD691, DirecTV Ch. 219, DISH Ch. 150).
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