Utah State Takes Down New Mexico In Overtime Thriller
Jan 8, 2022, 8:39 PM
Justin Bean #34 of the Utah State Aggies dribbles against Jay Allen-Tovar #21 of the New Mexico Lobos during the first half of their game at The Pit on January 08, 2022 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
(Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images)
LOGAN, Utah – The Utah State Aggies needed a big second half and a great performance in overtime in order to pick up a 90-87 road win against New Mexico on Saturday.
Utah State struggled in the first half as New Mexico outscored the Aggies 42-27. But, USU didn’t fold as they outscored the Lobos 49-34 to force overtime and dropped 14 points in the extra period, while holding New Mexico to 11 points.
Justin Bean led the way with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Six Utah State players scored in double figures out of the nine that played in the game. R.J. Eytle-Rock dropped 16 points, while Sean Bairstow posted 14, Brandon Horvath chipped in 13 points, Steven Ashworth had 12 points and Rylan Jones added 10 points and 8 assists.
For New Mexico, Jamal Mashburn Jr. had 29 points to lead the Lobos. Javont Johnson added 23 points.
First @MountainWest game back at The Pit DID NOT disappoint. @USUBasketball comes back from a 17-point deficit for an overtime victory‼️ pic.twitter.com/MsZa1wLVDt
— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) January 9, 2022
With one minute left in the game, Utah State trailed by one point with one minute remaining. Rylan Jones had to leave the game after getting the wind knocked out of him. New Mexico chose the USU free throw shooter and Trevin Dorius made both shots at the charity stripe to give the Aggies a one-point lead.
The Lobos missed a jump shot and took 15 seconds to foul Utah State. After Steven Ashworth hit both free throws to take a three-point lead, New Mexico’s K.J. Jenkins drills a three-pointer in the corner to tie the game. Utah State inbounded the ball and Ashworth split two defenders and nailed a shot from half court.
But the play was waved off as New Mexico called a timeout right after Jenkins’ triple. So, the Aggies had to inbound from the full length of the court. Ashworth threw the ball to Justin Bean at half court, where he called a timeout. The Aggies inbounded the ball at half court and Bean missed the game-winning shot and the game went to overtime.
Bean had six points in overtime to keep the Aggies in it before Ashworth hit a layup while getting fouled. Ashworth missed the free throw as USU held an 86-84 lead with 1:01 remaining in overtime.
New Mexico was called for a shot clock violation on the other end and the Aggies were sitting pretty with a two-point lead with 28 seconds left. Ashworth made both free throws to make it a four-point lead. Mashburn Jr. got a bucket and a foul to trim the deficit to one point. Bairstow hit both foul shots and the Aggies prevailed.
Utah State improved their record to 10-5 overall and 1-1 in Mountain West play. They will be back on the road to face Colorado State on Wednesday, January 12 at 6 p.m. MT on CBS Sports Network and The Zone Sports Network.
