CONWAY, S.C. - NM State scored the first basket of the game, but Utah State took control of things shortly thereafter and claimed an 85-58 victory over NM State in the first of two semifinal games at the 2021 Myrtle Beach Invitational Friday afternoon.
The setback, NM State's first of the season, prevented the Aggies from advancing to an MTE championship game for a second-straight time. Instead, NM State will play in the 2021 Myrtle Beach Invitational third-place game Sunday.
FIRST HALF
• Outside of Jabari Rice's game-opening bucket, few things went right for NM State in their first matchup with Utah State since 2013. Right after Rice's runner in the lane, Utah State's Brandon Horvath connected on the first of six three-pointers for the Mountain West club to give it a lead it never relinquished.
• Johnny McCants cashed in from long range with 17:44 left to knot matters at 7-7, but Utah State answered McCants' equalizing triple with a 13-0 scoring spree. Rylan Jones canned a pair of triples while Brock Miller added another to put NM State in a 20-7 hole with 13:16 left in the frame.
• The Aggies didn't succeed in getting back within single digits for the rest of the half and Utah State's lead bulged to as many as 25 points before the halftime horn sounded.
• Nine NM State turnovers through the opening 20 minutes of action hindered the Aggies' efforts to claim a win.
• Just three NM State players - Allen, McCants and Rice - generated points during the half and the Aggies shot only 20.4-percent (5-of-24) from the field. That figure included a 4-of-17 (.235) showing from three-point range.
• Utah State, meanwhile, suffered from no such difficulties on offense. Justin Bean nearly equaled NM State's point total at the half on his own by putting in 13 in the opening frame. Jones added 11 for Utah State which owned a 41-16 lead at the break.
SECOND HALF
• Allen started the final frame strong, coming up with all six of NM State's point as the Aggies started the half on a 6-2 surge.
• That run cut Utah State's lead down to 21, 43-22, but that was as close as NM State would get.
• Utah State's massive lead ballooned to as high as 40 points by the time all was said and done.
• Hyde Park, Mass., native Levar Williams came off the bench late in the game and splashed four three-pointers to help NM State put the final margin at 27 points. Each of NM State's last seven field goals of the game came from behind the arc.
KEY PERFORMERS/STATISTICS OF NOTE
• Allen extended his streak of double-digit scoring outings to four games by racking up a team-high 14 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
• Williams' long-range outburst came exclusively in the second half and he wound up with a season and career-high 13 points on a 4-of-6 effort from the field. He was the only other NM State player who posted double digits in the scoring column.
• After dropping its first game of the season, Utah State has recovered nicely and has won each of its last three games. Jones finished with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-8 shooting while Bean put in a total of 17.
• Utah State blistered the nets, shooting 56.4-percent (31-of-55) for the game. That figure included a gaudy 48.3-percent (14-of-29) accuracy rate from long range.
• Four Utah State players finished with at least 10 points and the Mountain West squad claimed its second-straight victory over NM State. The showdown between the two teams Friday was the first since February of 2013 - a 73-69 NM State setback in Ogden, Utah.
• NM State dropped its all-time record against Utah State to 30-37 with Friday afternoon's setback. It also marked the Aggies' third-consecutive setback against Mountain West Conference opposition.
• The Aggies' 27-point setback was the second-worst of the Chris Jans coaching era, eclipsed only by an 83-53 loss at 19th-ranked Arizona in November of 2019.
COMING UP NEXT
• The Aggies hope to get back in the win column Sunday evening when they take part in the third-place game of the 2021 Myrtle Beach Invitational. NM State will duke it out with either Indiana State or Oklahoma at 6:30 p.m. MT Sunday evening on ESPN2.
++NM State++
