Utah State Cruises To MW Semifinals After Second Half Surge Over UNLV

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – It took 20 minutes of the game but Utah State was able to advance to the next round of the Mountain West Tournament with a 74-53 win over UNLV.

Neemias Queta led Utah State with 18 points and 13 rebounds against UNLV. Marco Anthony added 15 points and 13 boards. Rollie Worster chipped in 14 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists. Justin Bean scored 10 points.

Bryce Hamilton scored 16 points to lead UNLV.

ROUND 1️⃣ ✅

Keep Punching 🥊#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/T0MOds1OXL

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 12, 2021

The first half was low scoring at the Thomas & Mack Center as the two teams combined for 18-of-58 from the field and 3-for-17 from the three-point line. Utah State trailed by six points late in the first half after a UNLV triple before momentum shifted to the Aggies.

Neemias Queta made a pair of free throws with just under two minutes until halftime. Then Queta blocked a shot on the defensive end, which turned into the big man knocking down a turnaround jumper on the baseline.

UNLV missed a jumper on the next possession and Rollie Worster made a layup to tie the game at 24 with 42 seconds left in the half. That was the halftime score. Worster had 9 points to lead the Aggies as they shot just 32 percent. Bryce Hamilton dropped 8 points to lead UNLV as the Rebels shot 30 percent from the floor.

The hoop opened up early in the second half for Utah State as they scored 19 points in the first five minutes. They outscored UNLV 19-12 in the early going. In the second half, Utah State was rolling as they outscored UNLV 50-29 to seal the win.

Utah State advanced to the semifinals of the Mountain West Tournament. They will face the winner of Colorado State and Fresno State on Friday, March 12 at 10 p.m. MT on CBS Sports Network.