LOGAN – Nevada knew it could finally score on the state of Utah as it entered the penultimate week of the regular season with a trip to Cache Valley.
What the Wolf Pack could not do was jump back.
Thanks to Neemias Queta and Justin Bean, the Aggies took care of that.
Queta had 26 points, 13 rebounds and six assists; and Justin Bean added 17 points, 13 rebounds and four assists to help complete Utah State Sunday night in the Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum in Logan, 17 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.
The Aggies collected 30 rebounds on the 33 misses in Nevada, and also added 17 offensive boards – led by six each from Queta and Bean. Even the 7-foot Portuguese center admitted that Bean was the key to that offensive dominance.
“Bean is just a player who works a lot, and it’s so hard to stop him,” Queta said. “Sometimes, when I have to stick him out in the middle of the exercise, I even struggle to do it.
“He’s very important to us, and he just lets the tough guy play, so it’s a really good experience to play with him.”
Bean’s doubles double was his sixth of the season in the state of Utah, and the 23rd of his career after also hitting 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 75-72 victory over the Wolf Pack on Friday. His season-high 13 rebounds tied for fifth-most games with double-digit boards in Aggie basketball history with Bob Lauriski (1971-73) and Wayne Estes (1963-65).
💪 @ justinbean34 leave it all in court for @USUB basketballpic.twitter.com/DP9ERMI05A
– FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 1, 2021
Bean is now equal to Mike Santos (1975-78) for the fourth double-digit rebound match in the history of the school.
“He’s had some offensive rebounds today, and if he hits such shots, it’s nice to be on the track,” Utah senior senior Alphonso Anderson said of Bean. “We’re trying to get some mojo going.”
Queta, of course, was not bad. The junior prospect for the NBA draft that kept his career high with six assistants, had his 11th double double of the season, 25th of his career, and took Bean’s place on the overall double-digit rebound list – now the sixth most overall. – and scored his fifth career double-double in the same game as Bean.
Marco Anthony scored 11 points and three assists for Utah State (16-7, 13-4 MW), and Anderson added 12 points for the Aggies and just scored for the sixth time this season in double figures as the Tacoma, Washington, born Senior day celebrated with a rare start.
The state of Utah has one more home game left, an outreach date with Wyoming on Thursday that was added late due to the cancellation of the series by COVID-19, but chose to celebrate its senior class on Sunday.
“I did a lot of work, I work hard on the exercise, and it was exciting,” Anderson said. “When he told me, I was very excited. But that does not mean that the work is over.
“I just have to keep working hard so we can keep winning games.”
Desmond Cambridge had 13 points and four rebounds for Nevada (14-9), who played three games behind third-place, Aggies in Mountain West, with a 9-7 record and a week left to the Mountain West. tournament in Las Vegas.
After a slow start, Utah State clinched a 15-2 run to take a 23-10 lead over Anderson’s lineup with 10:08 left in the half.
The Aggies’ offense was on the beat, despite only shooting 1-out-7 from the three-point shot. But more importantly, nothing worked for Nevada, who opened the shooting just 4-of-13 from the field and did not collect an offensive setback in the first half.
Queta had 8 points, six rebounds and a block in just nine minutes, while the Aggies scored the lead of about 15: 25-10, and Utah State outscored the Pack 23-15 while on 11-of-13 provided first aid. -half buckets on the way to a 39-23 lead. The Wolf Pack made a short turn from the break, but shot back 47-24, keeping the visitors at a distance for most of the half.
according to rumor the edge is still shaking👀
⚡️ @ nemi1599#AggiesAllTheWaypic.twitter.com/LN83KMXmMU
– USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 1, 2021
“We really just have to lock in the defense,” Anderson said. “When a team is down, the first give minutes are crucial; you give them life, or you take it away.
“We knew we had to be better defensive (than Friday) … and after the timeout, I think, we got together really offensively and defensively.”
With a return from a lower leg that was injured and kept him out of account for three weeks, he returned to the Aggies series. The rookie did not start, but he overcame a three-pointer with just under three minutes in the first half for his first bucket since Feb. 4 in the Fresno States.
Worster finished within 14 minutes with 3 points, three rebounds, two assistants and a steal side.
“From day one, Rollie was a talent kid with moxie, toughness and great composure as a player – for every age, let alone a true freshman,” Utah coach Craig Smith said. ‘I thought you could feel it tonight. All our guys believe in him; he’s an excellent defensive player, and we really missed him on the defensive end of the floor, especially with Brock (Miller)’s relegation.
‘Brock is sick, and I think you could see it tonight. So it felt good to have (Worster) back. ‘
Welcome back @ rworster24️ ️#AggiesAllTheWaypic.twitter.com/y8F4IzQjZU
– USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 1, 2021
The state of Utah has kept its foot on the gas from the rest period, mainly due to a setback. Nevada had just one attacking plate in the first eight minutes of the half and shot just 6-of-13 from the field to keep the Aggies head, despite being only 31.3% of the early in the half. field shot.
Utah State led by as many as 26 points in a game that led to just 51 seconds, and moved the ball with 22 shots on 29 field goals.
The Aggies shot just 4-of-22 from the three-point series, but forced 19 times with 11 steal balls, outscored the Wolf Pack 42-24 in the paint and put down 24 points from the second chance from 17 offensive rebounds.
“I never thought we were going to really get going,” Nevada coach Steve Alford said. “We were absolutely devastated on the glass and in transition. Those were the two biggest keys in this game, and we just beat really badly there.”
The Aggies made a lot of plays, Smith said. And bad was tougher than Bean.
“We eliminated losing,” the third-year Aggie coach added. ‘I thought we did a really good job of taking care of the ball and playing that way with a good rhythm.
“We did not shoot it wonderfully; the other night we were 11 for 21, but tonight we probably forced a few tries … and got out of rhythm. But we played a lot of pressure, a lot of balls, 19 times, and was just really active on the ball. ‘