Allen’s 14 Points Lead New Mexico State Over Wolverines In WAC Finale
Mar 5, 2022, 8:55 PM
(Courtesy of Utah Valley Athletics)
SALT LAKE CITY – The Aggies pull away with a stellar second-half defensive performance in a 62-46 win over Utah Valley.
New Mexico State hosted the Wolverines at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, NM on Saturday, March 5.
The win allowed New Mexico State to remain as the third seed in next weeks WAC tournament while the loss leaves Utah Valley in the seventh position.
1H | 3:35 | ⬆️21-18
Johnny ➡️ Yuat#AggieUp pic.twitter.com/2l1ThFEqbU
— NM State MBB (@NMStateMBB) March 6, 2022
NMSU led for much of the first half but struggled to pull away from the Wolverines. But a swarming Aggie defense limited NCAA double-double leader Fardaws Aimaq to 2-6 first half shooting and only five points along with seven rebounds.
With Aimaq struggling, New Mexico State benefited from a dozen points off the bench and 14 paint points while building a 28-22 halftime lead.
HALFTIME | 20 down, 20 to go. Let's get that🏆
Allen: 7 pts, 4 reb, 4 ast
Alok: 7 pts
McCants: 2 pts, 4 reb, 2 ast, 2 blk#AggieUp pic.twitter.com/SnYuZb4sRK— NM State MBB (@NMStateMBB) March 6, 2022
The Wolverines continued to get exposed by New Mexico State in the second half.
After shooting 9-28 overall in the first half, Utah Valley didn’t improve much in the second. But more worrisome for the Wolverines than missing shots on offense, is the way New Mexico State created some many more scoring chances. Ultimately the Aggie attempted 11 more fields than UVU in the game.
Utah Valley would close the second half on a scoring drought of 2:56. They missed their last four field goal attempts.
Aggie guard Teddy Allen led all scorers with 20 points. He added six rebounds and five assists in a solid all-around performance.
Le’Tre Darthard finishes with 13 points for the Wolverines.
The Western Athletic Conference Tournament is scheduled for March 8-12 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, NV. Seeding, opponent and game times for the WAC tournament are still to be determined.