LAS VEGAS: There was something about the shots at the south end of the Thomas & Mack Center camp.
Meet him, if you’ve been there. During the West Mountain Tournament, the southern end is where, during normal years, the band plays and the long media tunnel in the Cox Pavilion opens into the 19,522-seat arena that hosts UNLV men’s basketball. If you’re there during a Wyoming game, you can often see the famous “Cowboy Ken” strolling through those seats – barrel and all.
It’s before the end where Sam Merrill hit his all-time high last year, a three-point shot to beat San Diego State and hand Utah State the second consecutive West Mountain Tournament title. It was the last shot of his career.
Behind this basket is an empty arena, with seats removed to make way for the Mountain West network study set. At the other end, the southern end, are plenty of seats, this year sitting empty due to the COVID-19 pandemic and just a small tarpaulin covering the entrance to the tunnel.
That was the end when Utah State found its shooting form in the second half of Thursday’s quarterfinals.
Marco Anthony scored 10 of his 15 points in the second half, with 13 rebounds in total and five assists, while second-placed Aggies moved away from seventh-placed Runnin ‘Rebels, 74-53 in the quarterfinals of the mountain. West Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Neemias Queta added 18 points, 13 rebounds and three blocked shots for the Aggies (19-7) and Brock Miller added 8 points – all in the second half – for the state of Utah.
“I thought we had started slowly in the first half,” said Anthony, Virginia’s point guard who was named the Mountain West defense team this week. “The meeting in the second half was about taking another level, and we did it in the second half and it resulted in a win against a very talented team.”
Justin Bean scored 10 points and five rebounds and Rollie Worster added 14 points, six rebounds and eight assists as he continues to recover from the Aggies injury. Like his teammates, Worster shot 2 of 4 in the second half and distributed seven of those assists on the same court where he got a rebound and a timid assist from his first triple-double collegiate.
Bryce Hamilton scored 16 points, five rebounds and two assists to lead UNLV (12-15), and Edoardo Del Cadia added 10 points and five rebounds.
After firing just 32% from the field, the Aggies were controlled primarily by the UNLV defense on the way to a 24-24 draw at the break.
Then something happened after the break. Or more specifically, it happened Anthony. O Miller. Or any of the biggest shooters or offensive weapons in the state of Utah.
.@MarcoJAnthony is doing it‼ ️#AggiesAllTheWaypic.twitter.com/t1QawgNrSE
– USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 12, 2021
“Marco had a great game in every facet,” said Utah State coach Craig Smith. “That’s what he does. He had 15 points and 13 rebounds (six of those offenses) and five assists. He’s such a dynamic player, he was named on the defensive team and he’s very proud of that. He did a great job in the defensive final tonight, just like our whole team.It was a very balanced attack on both sides of the ball.We are thrilled to win.Survive and move forward at this time of year and we are looking we look forward to playing another game tomorrow, either against Colorado State or Fresno State. “
During the first half (the one Smith said was like “a root canal for both teams”), the state of Utah spent more than five minutes late in the first half without scoring, until Anthony he put a ball from Queta at 4:19 of the end half. This pushed the Aggies to 3, 21-18 during an awkward first half.
UNLV’s defense was good. It was arguably the best defense the rebels had played all year, and only the third time the Aggies had had less than 0.8 points per possession.
Despite firing only 32% of the field against that aggressive UNLV defense, Utah State ended in an 8-3 run to tie the game at 24-24. Worster scored 9 points and three rebounds in the first half, and Queta added 5 points, seven rebounds and two blocks before the break for the Aggies.
The Rebels kept the Aggies unbeaten during 6:02 of the first half and scored 6 points during the run. UNLV fired 9 of 30 from the field before the break, including 1 of 9 from 3-point range.
During this career, the state of Utah also went to work in its defense. Miller was returning to early training even though he was struggling with a recurring back injury, so it may have cost him half as much to settle down. But while they may have, the Aggies defended what you know, the word Smith likes. his popular “CAT” mentality.
“Brock Miller hasn’t played in two weeks and hasn’t done anything live in about a month. It’s hard to be realistic as a coach, but I had to step back and say, ‘This is where we are?’ “
“I give a lot of credit to our guys. I thought we were able to correct ourselves and we really settled in.”
When the teams changed baskets, the state of Utah opened a race. The Aggies used a 12-6 run to open the second half, shooting at the south end of the court, while Anthony rained two 3s and helped Bean into a bucket.
The Aggies had the Mountain West Network studio behind them and fired 55.9% from the field. They also beat UNLV 25-12 in the second half and assisted on 13 of 19 field goals with just two changes, while keeping the Rebels at just 34.5% shooting and 5 of 13 from three points.
After fighting in the first half, the state of Utah opened the second by making 10 of its first 17 shots after the break, including 4 of 6 triples. Behind Miller and Anthony, the Aggies shooters had woken up.
“We just had to get things started,” Anthony said. “When we play connected, that’s when we play at the best time. I feel like in the second half, we started doing it. And it showed on the scoreboard.”
Rollie Worster struggles to tie before half time! pic.twitter.com/hDtsrmZGeU
– CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) March 12, 2021
Queta finished a 14-5 run with six consecutive free throws to give Utah State a 65-46 lead with 4:30 left, and the Aggies pulled away for good. Miller finished just 3 of 10 from the field, but was 3 of 6 in the second half, including two of the Aggies ’four triples.
The train was rolling again.
As all teams ask to do in March, Utah State survived, advanced, and advanced to the next: a Mountain West semifinal against Colorado State. A date with the Rams will likely be an elimination match from the NCAA tournament for one team, with both teams sitting right inside the “Last Four In” bubble in ESPN’s Joe Lunardi parenthesis.
“You should be able to run in March,” Smith said. “You have to do it most years, but you really have to do it when you play a team for the third time like we were tonight.”
West Mountain Tournament
Friday semifinals
San Diego State No. 1 vs. Nevada No. 5 at 7:30 p.m. MT
Number 2 of the state of Utah against number 3 of the state of Colorado, at 22 hours MT