Photo by Nicolas Peña
Logan, UT–There couldn’t have been a more perfect way to end the last Mountain West season, with it’s current longtime membership plus Grand Canyon. This season has truly reanimated a saying I found myself personally using a few seasons ago in conference play, “Any team, any game, any night”.
That was something I used to say after Mountain West after Mountain West team continued to fall each week. Generating upsets galore and really bloodying up potential at-large resumes. While we likely over did it this season. With not many resumes still being reviewed for bubble purposes anymore, there is still plenty to play for on the last day of conference action.
The Aggies will receive the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament next week if they beat the Lobos. Having already won at least a piece of the regular season title. What else is at stake for fans in Logan? An outright Mountain West championship, that’s what. Jerrod Calhoun’s first and last before the program departs for the PAC-12 this summer.
For New Mexico, a win on the road Saturday afternoon gives them at least a share of the title. If they win, it will conclude a three-way finish with their hosts and San Diego State who beat UNLV on Friday. To win a conference championship in Eric Olen’s first year would be an incredible feat. Something to give Lobo fans who have had some losses this season.
First Half
In a packed house, the Aggies won the tip and Graduate guard Drake Allen opened the scoring with a hardnosed drive to the hoop.
Lobo big Tomislav Buljan grabbed the offensive board, putting fellow freshman Adlan Elamin on his back and knocking down the hook shot.
On the other end Utah State used a second chance opportunity to get the ball down to Zach Keller in the paint for an easy lay in.
A missed three point attempt by Luke Haupt resulted in an old school three point play by MJ Collins on the other end. Giving Utah State the early 7-2 lead.
The Aggies looked right at home (obviously), as a near turnover from a cross court pass was salvaged and dished out to Mason Falslev at the top of the key for a wide open three.
Eric Olen looked to stop the bleeding and called the timeout. That wasn’t the reset Lobo fans were hoping for as a few possessions later former Aggie Deyton Albury passed ball to the Utah State bench.
As New Mexico looked for any offense, Jake hall drove the ball and beautifully kissed the ball high off of the glass for the Lobos first field goal since the first minute of play.
On the next play Hall fouled Collins and sent him to the free throw line for three free ones, a tough play given their current deficit to overcome.
The freshman received the ball on on the next possession. Making up for his defensive lapse, by draining a three pointer at the top of the key through a bit of contact that went uncalled. Shrinking the Aggie lead to just six approaching the fifteen minute mark of the first half.
The Aggies went to their Junior big man Karson Templin who took the ball straight at the seven-foot one JT Rock and was fouled for two free ones.
As the Lobos went back to work freshman Elijah Perryman stripped the ball and went up for the layup on the other end, extending the Aggie lead to double-digits at 17-7.
Tajavis Miller ended their scoring drought with a contested corner three to keep the Lobos championship hopes on life support.
On the other end, Falslev demanded the rock and after some acrobatic plays drew the contact and went to the line, he would go one of two.
After a mass substitution by New Mexico, the Lobos continued to search for any points. This time resulting in a missed step back three by Uriah Tenette.
A blocked Buljan layup sparked a fast break which caught New Mexico jogging back and an alley oop to Gary Clark put the lead back to double-digits (20-10).
At this point of the game the Lobos were relying on contested shots for any sort of offensive production. Approaching the ten minute mark they had not had any trips to the free throw line and were shooting a questionable 28.6% from the floor on fourteen attempts.
But the first half onslaught continued, as Clark was the recipient of another beautiful alley oop that got the someone docile home crowd out in the game.
After some Utah State fouls, Albury was able to drive the ball, bump Templin off his balance for an open jump shot in the lane.
As the Aggies hit the boards hard on their next possession, Buljan went to work and drew the contact for a fresh Lobo possession.
Hall continued to be one of the only Lobos unbothered by the big moment with another layup to cut the lead down to single digits.
The officials didn’t let those whistles get cold for long as a Drake Allen drive led to a trip to the charity stripe, where he would go one of two.
On the other end JT Rock found himself at the line, where he himself would go one of two, to salvage a few points.
The family man Allen knocked down a corner three right in front of the Lobo bench to extend their lead to 26-15. On the other end Hall knocked down his second of the game to quiet the crowd.
It would appear to be a long range bomb fest in the coming minutes. As Keller knocked down his first triple of the night on the other end just for Tenette to answer back with his first triple right after.
Game play was brought to a halt when some big man positioning in the paint sent Keller to the bench with a possibly injured shoulder. After further review, the possible flagrant foul on Rock was waived off.
Falslev got right back to work on the other end with a beautiful lay in at the rim to break the thirty point seal.
Rock decided to give the student section something with a two handed slam. The Lobos realized the mismatch in the paint and went right back to him. On the next possession, he drained a layup through the double-team to shrink the Aggie lead to 31-25 with 6:15 left to go in the half.
Coach Calhoun didn’t like what he saw from his bigs defensively and called a timeout to regroup.
A missed Elamin three pointer out of the break put the ball back in Hall’s hands, where he drained the three pointer with an Aggie hand in his face.
Utah State used a pick and roll to get the ball to their high energy post man Templin. He finished through contact and went to the line for the three point play.
The pesky Allen nearly caused a Lobo turnover pushing Hall out of bounds but the smart play by Hall sent the ball out of bounds off of Allen. But as he continued to do, Allen picked the ball off of the following New Mexico inbound and drew contact on the fast break. Knocking down one but air balling the other.
The Lobos needed to stop the run and Albury found Miller in the same corner where he netted his first triple for his second.
As Allen drove the lane on the other end and missed, Clark followed up with a put back layup. After some gritty play back and forth, New Mexico capitalized with a Hall three point play at the foul line to stay within striking distance.
On the other end, Albury sent Allen to the line for his six free throw attempt of the half, where he drained both. The game’s pace remained slow as Haupt made a trip to the free throw line on the next possession, draining both to bring New Mexico to within three (39-36).
Templin stayed under the radar and found himself at the top of the key for an open three pointer. Quickly on the other end, Hall knocked down his fourth triple of the game.
After an Aggie triple rang out, the Lobos got the ball to Buljan and he was able to dish it to Rock for the hook shot. That two pointer brought the Utah State lead to just one.
On the next play a Hall three point attempt from the scorers table resulted in a rebounding foul on Utah State. Haupt went to the free throw line and knocked down both shots for the first Lobo lead of the game.
After a wild possession that Albury steal the ball, kick it out to Buljan. The freshman Croatian had to chase down and toss back into play to Utah State. Which Albury then stole again and took one last three pointer before the halftime buzzer.
Halftime
The Lobos went to their locker room up 43-42. Their only lead of the game, which they had for about thirty seconds or so. The first half was definitely a Jekyll and Hyde situation for New Mexico. Looking like a JV squad in the first twelve minutes, taking whatever the Utah State defense would give them.
After that, with some help from long range sniper Jake Hall (19 points in the first half). The Lobos began to slowly chip away at that Aggie lead. By alternating between three pointers, two point field goals by Rock and finally having some foul calls go their way. Thanks to those two, New Mexico shot 48.4% (15-31) from the floor, 50% from deep (7-14) and 6-7 (85.5%) from the free throw line.
Second Half
The Aggies got things started quickly, finding Allen for a kick out triple in the corner to retake the lead. On the next possession his next triple attempt fell short, but the previously injured Keller made the effort play to keep the ball on their side of the court.
Utah State’s three point barrage continued, with a MJ Collins corner triple that was reminiscent of the first ten minutes of the game.
Hall ended that 6-0 run with a two point jumper in the lane. While Albury continued to disrupt the Aggies along the perimeter with a turnover on the next play.
Something New Mexico may have forgotten is how deep Jerrod Calhoun’s squad really is. As Collins knocked down his second triple of the second half on the next possession.
After forcing another Lobo turnover, Collins would miss his third triple attempt. On the other end, Templin would stop Buljan from getting his first points of the half down low. While missing a layup near the rim on the other side, but quickly catching his own miss and going back up for another old fashion triple.
The Lobos found themselves on the wrong side of a 12-2 run, Tenette would end that with a trip to the free throw line for two easy ones. As New Mexico began to display some defensive adjustments the Aggies began to look for some easier buckets at the free throw line. With Falslev finding himself doing just that for some made free throws.
Hall remembered he was hot and knocked down his first deep ball of the half. Aggie big man Templin found himself wide open on the other end and drained one for himself. As the Lobos ran back up the court the ball went to Hall, yes for another made triple.
Collins made his way to the free throw line for another old school triple. While Hall took a small break on the other end and instead let Miller heave up the deep ball, which he knocked down.
As the Aggies continued to take the ball to the basket the Lobos continued to lock in from deep. A missed Tenette triple was recovered by himself and kicked out to Hall for his seventh three pointer of the game. Bringing New Mexico to within five at 64-59 with 12:26 left in the game and giving the freshman 30 points.
As every fan in the building thought the ball would go to Hall, Miller took the ball to the rack for an unexpected layup and drew some contact. He would go one of two at the line.
Some further Albury disruption nearly caused an Aggie turnover and then the next play he did just that. On the next play Tenette threw a rocket down low to Rock for some beautiful down low offense.
The Lobos forgot about Collins as he netted another triple to extend the Aggie lead to 67-62 approaching the ten minute mark.
On the next play Hall took the ball down low, backing down former Big Easy guard Kolby King and drawing contact for two made free ones.
Hall missed his first triple in awhile which resulted in another Collins triple on the other end. Coach Olen needed someone else to help Hall offensively. As the Aggies had three or four players who were doing what the freshman was doing by himself.
Apparently that was the general idea as the ball went to Buljan next time out for a two point field goal. As the Lobos looked for a defensive stop, the Aggies energy was hard to stop. As a missed Collins deep ball resulted in a circus rebound, shot and foul by Falslev that sent Albury to the bench with four fouls.
The Lobos needed some points and Tenette gave them that with a drive to the lane for two more, shrinking the deficit to five (73-68) with just over seven minutes left in the game.
Collins took it inside the arc this time for a two pointer and his 23rd point of the game.
As Coach Olen realized his defensive momentum was essentially null with Albury on the bench he brought him back in. A near Aggie turnover on the very next possession was saved by Falslev who called the timeout.
As the Lobos stayed a little hands off on defense to avoid any unnecessary free throw trips, the Aggies found King for another alley oop, extending the lead to 77-68 approaching the five minute mark.
A pair of Lobo field goals brought them back within five, but Albury fouled out almost right after that gained momentum. After a pair of made free throws the ball went back to New Mexico.
After Hall got his three point attempt blocked, the Lobos regrouped and Tenette drained a two point jumper to keep hopes alive. A defensive foul off of the ball screen sent the officials to the scorers table to review.
There was no flagrant foul but the Aggies sent Templin to the line to go one of two and further extend their lead.
On the other end Buljan took the ball to the rack and earned a pair of free throws, he would miss them both. Falslev used his shoulder to clear some space for the field goal at the basket.
Buljan took the ball to the paint himself for another two point field goal with Utah State still up by six (82-76) with 3:03 left in the game. On the next play Templin committed the offensive foul and would spend the rest of the game on the bench.
New Mexico’s ball movement got the ball to Buljan in the paint for two more free throws. With just about two minutes left on the game clock, he would knock down one of two.
A dish to a cutting Keller resulted in two more Aggie points. On the other end Haupt drew the defenders to dish it to Buljan for a two handed slam.
A lazy foul by Hall on the next play sent King to the line for two more free throws, he would knock them both down.
Tenette would drive the ball on the next play and miss his shot but a rebound attempt by Buljan would send him to the line for more free throw, he would miss both.
The Aggies being in the double-bonus hurt the Lobos bad, it caused them to play passive defensively. Combined with their inability to make their own free throws was the nail in the coffin. Despite a late second three point dagger by Miller and some clutch Tenette free throws down the stretch.
Players of the Game:
New Mexico-Jake Hall, Freshman Guard-32 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists on 52.3% (11-21), 43.7% (7-16) from deep and 100% (3-3) from the free throw line in
This game isn’t even close without Hall. The Aggies didn’t have an answer for him until he essentially ran out of gas in the remaining ten minutes or so of the game. This is one of those performances for the ages, even if the result didn’t go his team’s way.
Utah State–MJ Collins, Senior Guard-27 points and 6 rebounds on 50% (7-14) shooting from the floor, 40% (4-10) from deep and 100% from the free throw line (9-9)
As the rest of Utah State’s lineup became a little complacent with their offensive opportunities. Collins went to work, showing people why he was a Player of the Year contender for most of the season. I don’t thing the Aggies regain the same dominant position without his second half triples.
Next Up:
That’s a wrap on the regular season. With both teams and fanbases now gearing up for a return to Las Vegas for the 2026 Mountain West Tournaments. For some it will be their last time making the trip to Sin City with the Thomas and Mack Center as their destination.
As the schools bound for the PAC-12 will continue to head to Las Vegas in March, but with either MGM Garden Grand Arena or the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay as their future homes.
Stay tuned for further Mountain West postseason coverage from us here at Couch Potato Sports.
Larry Muniz is a Mountain West Basketball beat writer for Couch Potato Sports along with West Coast mid-major coverage at Mid-Major Madness.
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