LOGAN, Utah – Utah State men's basketball (19-3, 9-2 MW) picked up its third loss of the season and second of Mountain West play Saturday evening inside of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, falling to New Mexico 82-63.
In a battle between the top two teams in the Mountain West standings, poor free throw shooting and a strong second half from the visitors led to the loss for Utah State in front of a sold-out Spectrum crowd. The 19-point loss is the first loss of the season by more than three points for USU.
Utah State got out to a strong start, leading for over 16 of the first 20 minutes and taking a six-point advantage into the locker room, but a 36-30 first half was followed by a 27-52 second half.
After building on the halftime lead and extending it to nine points, USU's largest of the night at 48-39, the Lobos answered with a 10-0 run to retake the lead, their first since the nine-minute mark of the first half. That streak extended to a 24-5 run for the visitors, flipping a nine-point Aggie advantage to a nine-point lead for New Mexico in just seven minutes of action.
The Aggies struggled at the charity stripe, making just 10 of their 23 free throws on the night. They also struggled to find rhythm from behind the 3-point arc, connecting on 16.1 percent (5-of-31) of their shots from deep.
Graduate guard
Drake Allen led the Aggies in the scoring column with 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the floor and 3-of-4 shooting from deep. He was joined in double-figures by senior guard
Deyton Albury, who scored 12 points, while fifth year guard
Ian Martinez and graduate guard
Dexter Akanno each finished with 10.
USU was outrebounded 48-33, led on the glass by sophomore guard
Mason Falslev's seven boards. Sophomore forward
Karson Templin brought down six rebounds.
The Aggies posted a 36-32 advantage in points in the paint, and a 12-0 advantage in fast break points.
Utah State finished the game shooting 37.5 percent (24-of-64) from the floor, 16.1 percent (5-of-31) from behind the 3-point arc and 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from the free throw line. New Mexico shot 48.3 percent (28-of-58) from the field, including 31.8 percent (7-of-22) from 3-point range and 70.4 percent (19-of-27) at the charity stripe.
UP NEXT
Utah State hits the road for a pair of games next week, beginning on Tuesday, Feb. 4, when the team takes on Wyoming. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m., and the game will be streamed on Mountain West Network.
SEASON TICKETS
There are a limited number of tickets available for all remaining home games. To purchase visit utahstateaggies.com/tickets.
FOLLOW
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.
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