BOISE, Idaho - Utah State lost 81-77 at Boise State on Friday night despite another strong effort by junior center Neemias Queta, as he finished with a game-high 30 points and added 11 rebounds for his second-straight double-double. Queta is the first Aggie to log 30 or more points in back-to-back games since the 2007-08 season when Jaycee Carroll had games of 30 and 32 points in back-to-back contests.
Queta added three assists, three steals and two blocks while shooting 73.6 percent (14-of-19) from the floor. Queta's 14 field goals marked a new career high. He was joined in double figures by junior forward Justin Bean with 11 points and junior guard Brock Miller with 10. Freshman guard Steven Ashworth led the Aggies with five assists, starting in his second straight game and playing in a career-high 37 minutes.
Utah State started hot, jumping out to a 9-0 lead after winning the tip and getting baskets from Queta, Bean and Miller. The start prompted a BSU timeout, but the USU margin increased to 10, 17-7, with just over 16 minutes to play in the first half. Boise State countered and tied the game at 21-21 with 9:41 on the clock, marking the first of three deadlocks during the opening half.
Ashworth gave the Aggies a 29-28 lead with just over four minutes before the half and back-to-back baskets by Queta to end the half put Utah State up 37-30 going into intermission.
Utah State had a nine-point lead early in the second half before a 14-0 run by Boise State put the Broncos up five, 50-45, with just under 14 minutes to play. The Aggies answered with an 8-0 run with points coming from Ashworth, redshirt junior guard Marco Anthony, Bean and Queta to take a 53-50 lead with 12:31 on the clock. The game went back-and-forth from there as Boise State took a lead, only to have Utah State answer and take the lead right back. USU had a 68-64 advantage with 6:15 to play following three-straight baskets by senior forward Alphonso Anderson, but seven unanswered points by Boise State gave the home side a 71-68 lead. Queta tied the game for the final time at 71-71 with just under three minutes to play with his first dunk of the game, but the Broncos were able to make baskets down the stretch to fight off the late push by the Aggies.
Overall, Boise State shot 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from the floor during the game, marking the second-highest shooting percentage by a Utah State opponent this season. BSU also shot 41.2 percent (7-of-17) from behind the 3-point line and 80.0 percent (16-of-20) at the free throw line.
Utah State finished the game shooting 50.0 percent (33-of-66) from the floor, 28.6 percent (4-of-14) from behind the 3-point line and 63.6 percent (7-of-11) at the free throw line. The Aggies have now shot 50 percent or better from the floor in eight games this season and are 7-1 on year in those contests.
Utah State won the battle of the boards, outrebounding the Broncos 33-25 and have outrebounded every opponent this season. The Aggies also outscored the Broncos 44-38 in the paint.
USU hosts a pair of home games next week, welcoming Nevada to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Friday, Feb. 26, and Sunday, Feb. 28. The games are scheduled for 7 and 5 p.m., respectively, and can be seen on Fox Sports 1 (Xfinity Ch. 265/HD691, DirecTV Ch. 219, DISH Ch. 150).
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