New Mexico State Too Much For Utah Valley

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – For the second time this season, Utah Valley falls to New Mexico State. They lost 84-77 on the road.

For UVU, the leading scorer was Benjamin Nakwaasah with 18 points. Wyatt Lowell had 12 points off the bench, Braylee Steele had 11 points and 12 rebounds. It was their first game in 14 days.

New Mexico State was led by Eli Chuha with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Trevelin Queen added 13 points, while Terrell Brown and Clayton Henry scored 11 points apiece.

Strong Start For New Mexico State

Jake Toolson struggled in the first half for the Wolverines as he was held scoreless through the first 16 minutes of the game, shooting 0-for-3 from the field.

As a team, UVU was shooting 35 percent during that span and trailed NMSU 32-24 with 4 minutes left in the first half.

The Wolverines answered back by making four of their next five shots to trail by three with one minute left.

When the halftime horn sounded, New Mexico State had a 39-37 lead.

Wolverines Can’t Complete Comeback

In the second half, the Wolverines had moments of getting back into the game before the Aggies would stretch the lead.

Over 12 minutes into the second half, New Mexico State outscored Utah Valley 26-17 to lead 65-54 with 7 minutes remaining.

Utah Valley was within 10 with 1:28 left in the game. The Aggies cruised to the win.

Up Next

The Wolverines fell to 16-8 overall and 5-4 in WAC play. They will wrap up their two-game road trip on Saturday against Rio Grande Valley at 6 p.m. on the WAC Digital Network.

The Vaqueros are 15-12 overall and 7-4 in conference play, having won their last five games.

Utah Valley beat Rio Grande on January 17 in Orem, 82-61.