LOGAN – Nevada knew that it could eventually score a goal in the state of Utah by entering the penultimate week of the regular season with a trip to Cache Valley.
What the Wolf Pack was unable to do was recover.
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 assists to help Utah State complete the sweep of two Wolf Pack games, 87-66, on Sunday night at the Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum in Logan.
The Aggies collected 30 rebounds in 33 wrong shots from Nevada, and added 17 offensive rebounds as well – led by six from Queta and Bean each. Even the 2.13 meter Portuguese center admitted that Bean was the key to this offensive domain.
“Bean is just a player who works hard and it is very difficult to stop him,” said Queta. “Sometimes, when I have to fight him in the middle of practice, even I fight for it.
“He’s very important to us and he just gets those tough guys to play, so it’s a very good experience to play with him.”
Bean’s double-double was his sixth of the season at Utah State, and the 23rd of his career, after also winning 19 points and 10 rebounds in his 75-72 victory over Wolf Pack on Friday. His 13 rebounds, record of the season, broke the tie in the fifth most double-digit games in basketball history Aggie with Bob Lauriski (1971-73) and Wayne Estes (1963-65).
💪 @ justinbean34 leaving everything on the court for @USUBasketballpic.twitter.com/DP9ERMI05A
– FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) March 1, 2021
Bean is now tied with Mike Santos (1975-78) for the fourth largest double-digit rebound in school history.
“He had some huge offensive rebounds today, and when he’s taking down shots like that, it’s fun to be on the court,” said Utah State veteran Alphonso Anderson of Bean. “We are trying to get some mojo by going to the court.”
Queta, of course, was also not bad. The junior NBA recruiting candidate who tied his career with six assists had his 11th double-double of the season, 25th of his career, and moved to Bean’s place on the all-time double-digit rebound list – now the sixth more general – and scored his fifth game in his career with a double-double in the same game as Bean.
Marco Anthony added 11 points and three assists for Utah State (16-7, 13-4 MW), and Anderson added 12 points for the Aggies, marking double digits for the sixth time this season as the Tacoma native, Washington celebrated the Day of Seniors with a rare start.
Utah State has a home game remaining, a makeup encounter with Wyoming on Thursday that was added late due to the series cancellation by COVID-19, but chose to celebrate its senior class on Sunday.
“I worked hard, I worked hard in practice and it was exciting,” said Anderson. “When he told me, I was super excited. But that does not mean that the job is over.
“I just have to keep working hard so that we can continue to win games.”
Desmond Cambridge had 13 points and four rebounds for Nevada (14-9), who fell three games behind third-placed Aggies in Mountain West with a 9-7 record and a week for the Mountain West tournament in Las Vegas.
After a slow start, Utah State crowned a series of 15-2 to take the lead of 23-10 over Anderson’s tray, 10:08 to go.
The Aggies’ attack was clicking, despite shooting only 1 out of 7 from a 3-point streak. But the most important thing is that nothing was working for Nevada, which opened the game with just 4 of 13 pitches and did not receive an offensive rebound in the first half.
Queta had 8 points, six rebounds and a block in just nine minutes, while the Aggies increased their lead to 15, 25-10, and Utah State went on to overtake Pack 23-15 while assisting 11 of 13 first half buckets on the way to a 39-23 lead in the break. The Wolf Pack took a short break at half-time, but the lack of a rebound of 47-24 kept visitors away most of the time.
They say the edge is still shaking👀
⚡️ @ nemi1599#AggiesAllTheWaypic.twitter.com/LN83KMXmMU
– USU men’s hoops (@USUBasketball) March 1, 2021
“We really just have to stop the defense,” said Anderson. “When a team is lost, the first few minutes are crucial; either you give them life or you take them off.
“We knew we had to be better defensively (than on Friday) … and after that time, I think we really got together offensively and defensively.”
Making a comeback from a leg injury that kept him away for three weeks, Rollie Worster went back to the Aggies squad. The freshman didn’t start, but dropped a 3-point basket with just under three minutes to go in the first half since February 4 at Fresno State.
Worster finished with 3 points, three rebounds, two assists and a steal in 14 minutes.
“From day one, Rollie was a talented boy with courage, toughness and tremendous composure as a player – for any age, let alone a real freshman,” said Utah State coach Craig Smith. “I thought you could feel it tonight. All of our players believe him; he is an excellent defensive player, and we really missed him on the defensive end of the court, especially with Brock (Miller) ‘s back problem.
“Brock is sick, and I think you can see that tonight. So it was nice to have (Worster) back.”
Welcome back @ rworster24‼ ️#AggiesAllTheWaypic.twitter.com/y8F4IzQjZU
– USU Men’s Basketball (@USUBasketball) March 1, 2021
Utah has kept its foot on the gas since the break, largely because of the recovery. Nevada had only one offensive board in the first eight minutes of time, kicking just 6 out of 13 to keep the Aggies in the head, despite kicking just 31.3% of the field early in the interval.
Utah State led by up to 26 points in a game that led for 51 seconds, and moved the ball with 22 assists in 29 goals scored.
The Aggies hit just 4 out of 22 in the 3-point streak, but forced 19 turns with 11 steals, overcame the Wolf Pack by 42-24 in the paint and added 24 second chance points in 17 offensive rebounds.
“I never thought we would really go,” said Nevada coach Steve Alford. “We were absolutely destroyed in the glass, and in the transition. Those were the two biggest keys to this game, and we were only defeated very badly there.”
The Aggies made a lot of “tough” plays, said Smith. And few were more resistant than Bean.
“We have eliminated defeats,” added Aggie’s third-year coach. “I thought we did a great job taking care of the ball and playing at a great pace that way.
“We didn’t shoot very well; the other night we were 11 out of 21, but tonight we probably forced a few trios … and we did a few out of rhythm. were really active with the ball. “