by: Wade Denniston, USU Athletic Media Relations

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico – Senior forward Justin Bean had 21 points and 11 rebounds for his 14th double-double of the season as Utah State outlasted New Mexico 90-87 in overtime on Saturday night at The Pit.
 
RJ Eytle-Rock turned in his best game as an Aggie as the senior guard had 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field and 4-of-5 from the free throw line, junior guard Sean Bairstow had 14 and senior forward Brandon Horvath 13 for Utah State (10-5, 1-1 Mountain West), which secured the first conference win for head coach Ryan Odom.
 
Sophomore guard Steven Ashworth chipped in 12 points off the bench and junior guard Rylan Jones had 10 points and eight assists for the Aggies, who overcame a 17-point second-half deficit to improve to 11-9 overall in Albuquerque – the lone team in the MW with a winning record at the home of the Lobos.
 
Jamal Mashburn Jr. poured in 29 points and Javonte Johnson added 23 for the Lobos (7-8, 0-2), who shot 51.7 percent in the first half (15-of-29), including a fiery 66.7 percent from 3-point range (10-of-15), in building a 42-27 lead at the break.
 
Just 22 seconds into the second half, Emmanuel Kuac gave New Mexico its largest lead of the night at 44-27 when he scored on a dunk, but that's when the Aggies began chipping away at the lead.
 
Following a 3-pointer by Mashburn, Utah State was down 54-43 with 13:36 to go, but a putback basket by Horvath ignited a 12-1 run by the Aggies that pulled them to within one.
 
However, it wasn't until the 6:59 mark that Utah State finally pulled even at 61-all following a layup by junior center Trevin Dorius. A minute-and-a-half later, Jones gave the Aggies a 65-63 lead with a layup of his own.
 
With less than a minute remaining, Ashworth appeared to have sealed the deal on two separate occasions for Utah State. The native of Alpine, Utah, knocked down a pair of free throws with 15 seconds to go to give the Aggies a 76-73 lead.
 
However, New Mexico tied it at 76-all with three seconds left when he KJ Jenkins knocked down a corner 3 from in front of the Lobos' bench. Following the made basket, the Aggies got the ball into Ashworth's hands, who sank a 3-pointer from the mid-court stripe to seemingly give Utah State the win. Unfortunately for the guests, New Mexico called timeout prior to the Aggies inbounding the ball.
 
Utah State still had a chance to win it in regulation, but Bean's potential game-winner was off the mark and the two teams went into overtime deadlocked at 76-apiece.
 
The Aggies never trailed in overtime and took the lead for good at 86-84 when Ashworth scored on a layup with 1:01 to go.
 
Utah State shot 55.0 percent from the field (33-of-60), including 25.0 percent (4-of-16) from 3-point range, and 80.0 percent from the free throw line (20-of-25).
 
New Mexico shot 44.6 percent (29-of-65) overall, but knocked down 50.0 percent of its shots from beyond the arc (17-of-34). The Lobos made 70.6 percent of their free throws (12-of-17).
 
The game featured eight ties and five lead changes.
 
Utah State remains on the road to face Colorado State on Wednesday, Jan. 12, at 6 p.m., in Fort Collins, Colorado.
 
For more information on Utah State's men's basketball program, follow the Aggies on Facebook at usumensbasketball, on Twitter at @usubasketball and on Instagram at @usubasketball. Fans can also watch USU men's basketball highlights by visiting youtube.com/utahstateathletics.
 
-USU-