Brock Miller returns, Utah State gets confidence-boosting win over New Mexico

LOGAN — In college basketball, you're likely to score more baskets against teams ranked 245th nationally in defense than against teams in the top 20.

On Tuesday night, Utah State basketball learned that the easy way.

After back-to-back losses against San Diego State and Boise State, both of whom are in the top 15 in the KenPom.com adjusted defensive efficiency metric, the Aggies offense released its frustration on New Mexico.

The Lobos bit on pump fakes and rotated poorly, while Utah State had the physical edge and moved the ball effectively to shot 52.5% from the field and 36.4% from 3-point range. Justin Bean had a game-high 21 points and Brandon Horvath added 19 points as Utah State snapped a four-game losing streak with an 81-56 win.

"It's great to get a win for our guys," Utah State head coach Ryan Odom said. "You know, we had a tough stretch. Obviously losing four in a row is really hard for our guys.

"Offensively, I thought our guys did a really nice job. You know, passing the ball tonight, I think our guys were spaced a lot better and were more confident."

Perhaps aiding the team's confidence level was Brock Miller. The senior guard, who has been out with a prolonged back injury, played for the first time since Dec. 29 against Air Force.

Miller logged 12 minutes of action and finished 1 of 3 from the field with 3 points. But the loudest moment of the game came in the second half when Miller buried a corner 3-ball to give the Aggies a 53-28 lead with 14:04 remaining in the game. The Sandy native, who was visibly amped up, waved his hands in the air toward the student section in celebration.

"Oh man, that was unbelievable," Miller said. "I'm really humbled with just the opportunity to have been given to play. You know, when it's taken away from you a little bit from bad health, you realize how great it is to be out there."

Bean said he's "definitely got to give Brock a shout out for that 3-pointer. That was probably the loudest this arena has gotten, you know, all year. So that was exciting for him to get his groove back and get back out there."

It was a much-needed moment for Miller, and a much-needed game for the Aggies.

For the past two weeks, Utah State dipped into a lull during the roller-coaster ride of a season. Three road losses against a team from the top of the conference and a letdown at home against Nevada have all but eliminated the Aggies' NCAA Tournament aspirations.

Despite an at-large bid out of the question, Utah State belives their performance against the Lobos showed they're just as engaged as ever.

"We just didn't get complacent. We didn't look down on ourselves after those four losses," Bean said. "We just know what we're capable of; and win or lose, we know we can play with anyone in this league. And so we did a good job just being confident in that and trusting each other."

The confidence was exhibited right from the get-go; Utah State opened the game a perfect 8 of 8 from the field to jump out to a 20-7 lead five minutes into the game.

Ashworth hit two 3-pointers, Bean had a fast-break, one-handed dunk, and Bairstow had a midrange turnaround. Bairstow finished with 12 points and four assists, and a poster dunk of his gave Utah State a 26-11 lead with eight minutes left in the half.

"I thought Shawn had a really nice game," Odom said. "It was good to get him back out there playing like himself."

Defensively, Utah State brought it, as well, against the Lobos.

Throughout the game, Jaelen House, who averages 17 points per game, was just 1 of 8 from the field with 2 points. The Lobos, who are No. 1 in the Mountain West in 3-point percentage, went just 5 of 17 from beyond the arc.

"We need our defense to lead us to victory," Odom said. "And I thought, overall, there were stretches where we guarded really, really well."

Utah State led 38-21 at the half and kept pace in the second. Bairstow opened the game up with a layup, and Horvath scored 10 points in seven minutes to give the Aggies a 25-point lead.

"It was good to be able to just close that gap and just not let them get back in the game," Bean said.

Utah State returns to the court for senior night on Saturday against Colorado State.

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