LOGAN – Nevada knew it could eventually score at Utah State when it entered the penultimate week of the regular season with a trip to Cache Valley.
What the Wolf Pack couldn’t do was bounce back.
Thanks to Neemias Queta and Justin Bean, the Aggies made sure of that.
Queta had 26 points, 13 rebounds and six assists; and Justin Bean added 17 points, 13 rebounds and four to help Utah State complete the Wolf Pack’s two-game range, 87-66, Sunday night at Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum in Logan.
The Aggies collected 30 rebounds on Nevada’s 33 missed shots, and also added 17 attack boards – led by six each from Queta and Bean. Even the 2-meter Portuguese center admitted that Bean was the key to that attacking dominance.
“Bean is just a player who works a lot, and it’s so hard to stop him,” said Queta. “Sometimes, when I have to box him in the middle of practice, I even have trouble with that.
“He’s very important to us, and he’s just making sure that tough guy plays so it’s a really good experience playing with him.”
Bean’s double-double was his sixth of the season at Utah State, and 23rd of his career, after he also went for 19 points and 10 rebounds in a 75-72 win over the Wolf Pack on Friday. His season-high 13 rebounds broke a tie for the fifth most games with double-digit boards in Aggie’s basketball history with Bob Lauriski (1971-73) and Wayne Estes (1963-65).
@ justinbean34 leave it all out on the track @AmsterdamArtpic.twitter.com/DP9ERMI05A
– FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 1, 2021
Bean is now level with Mike Santos (1975-78) for the fourth most two-digit rebound games in school history.
“He had some massive offensive rebounds today, and when he takes down shots like that, it’s nice to be on the field,” said Utah State senior Alphonso Anderson of Bean. “We’re trying to get a little mojo to court.”
Queta herself was of course not bad. The junior NBA draft prospect who tied his career high with six assists had his 11th double-double of the season, 25th of his career, and moved into Bean’s spot on the all-time double-digit rebounds list – now sixth most overall. – and ended his fifth career game with a double-double in the same game as Bean.
Marco Anthony scored in 11 points and three assists for Utah State (16-7, 13-4 MW), and Anderson added 12 points for the Aggies, scoring double digits for the sixth time this season as the Tacoma, Washington-born Celebrated Senior Day with a rare start.
Utah State has one home game left, a make-up date with Wyoming on Thursday that was added late due to a series cancellation by COVID-19, but chose to celebrate senior class on Sunday.
“I did a lot of work, I work hard during the training and it was exciting,” said Anderson. “When he told me I was super excited. But that doesn’t mean 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), which played three games behind third place Aggies in Mountain West with a 9-7 record and one week to go to the Mountain West Tournament in Las Vegas.
After a slow start, Utah State ended a 15-2 run to take a 23-10 lead on Anderson’s layup with 10:08 left in the half.
The Aggies’ attack clicked despite firing only 1 in 7 from 3-point range. But more importantly, nothing worked for Nevada, which opened the game by shooting only 4-of-13 off the field and collecting no offensive rebound in the first half.
Queta had 8 points, six rebounds and a block in just nine minutes, as the Aggies lifted the lead to 15, 25-10, and Utah State walked out of the Pack 23-15 while assisting first to 11-of-13-and-a-half buckets heading for a 39-23 lead at the break. The Wolf Pack made a short run from half time, but shot a 47-24 rebounding trailing the visitors at a distance for most of the half.
rumor has it that the bezel is still vibrating
@ nemi1599#AggiesAllTheWaypic.twitter.com/LN83KMXmMU
– USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 1, 2021
“We really just need to keep an eye on the defense,” Anderson said. “When a team is down, those first minutes are crucial; you give them life or you take it away.
“We knew we had to be better defensively (than Friday)… and after that time-out, I think we got together offensively and defensively.”
Rollie Worster returned to the lineup for the Aggies, returning after a lower leg injury that kept him out of the game for three weeks. The freshman didn’t start, but he did hit a 3-pointer with just under three minutes to go in the first half for his first bucket since February 4 in Fresno State.
Worster finished with 3 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 14 minutes.
“From day one, Rollie was a talent kid with moxie, toughness and tremendous composure as a player – for any age, let alone a true freshman,” said Utah State coach Craig Smith. “I thought you could feel that tonight. All our boys believe in him; he’s an excellent defensive player and we really missed him on the defensive side of the floor, especially with Brock’s (Miller) problem.
“Brock is sick, and I think you can see that tonight. So it just felt good to have (Worster) back. ‘
Welcome back @ jeroennl!#AggiesAllTheWaypic.twitter.com/y8F4IzQjZU
– USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 1, 2021
Utah State kept its foot on the gas from half time, in large part because of rebounding. Nevada had only one offensive backboard in the first eight minutes of the half, shooting only 6-of-13 off the field to keep the Aggies head-on, despite shooting only 31.3% of the field at the beginning of the half .
Utah State led by a whopping 26 points in a game it led for nearly 51 seconds, moving the ball with 22 assists on 29 field goals scored.
The Aggies shot only 4-of-22 from a 3-point range, but forced 19 turnovers with 11 steals, surpassed the Wolf Pack 42-24 in paint, and added 24 rematch points from 17 offensive rebounds.
“I never thought we would really get going,” said Nevada coach Steve Alford. “We were absolutely destroyed on the glass, and in the transition. Those were the two biggest keys in this game, and we just got really badly beaten there.”
The Aggies made a lot of “tough” plays, Smith said. And few were tougher than Bean.
“We eliminated losing,” added the third-year Aggie coach. “I thought we did a really good job of taking care of the ball and playing with good rhythm that way.
“We didn’t shoot it great; the other night we were 11 to 21, but tonight we probably forced a pair of threes … and took a few out of the rhythm. But we played a lot of jostling, we got a lot of balls, Forced 19 turnovers and were just very active on the ball. “