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LAS VEGAS — Inside the confines of the Thomas & Mack Center a week ago, Utah State forward Taylor Funk took just three shots and scored just 2 points during the Aggies' rout over UNLV.
Following the game, Steven Ashworth was asked about his teammate's performance and recent offensive slump after the game. Ashworth insisted Funk's offense would be there when it needed to be.
And on the biggest stage of the season to date, Ashworth's promise rang true in the same building where he pledged it.
In front of a favorable New Mexico Lobos crowd for the Mountain West quarterfinals round on Wednesday night, Funk opened up the game with Utah State's first 16 points and finished with a season-high 32 points, and the Aggies beat the Lobos 91-76.
With the win, the Aggies advance to the semifinal round that will be played on Friday (10 p.m. MST, CBSSN) against Boise State — another opportunity to strengthen Utah State's NCAA Tournament resume.
Ashworth added 22 points, Dan Akin had 17 points, and despite the Lobos' best efforts to keep the game competitive late into the second half, the Aggies offense was simply too much to handle.
Funk, who outscored the Lobos 16-4 to open the game, hit five of his first six shots was 10-of-16 for the game to help extend Utah State's stay in Sin City. With the Aggies up to 21 in KenPom rankings and a 10-5 record in the first two quadrants, Funk's efforts likely secured Utah State a bid in the NCAA Tournament field.
Not bad for someone who did not even garner an All-Mountain West honorable mention nod.
"Obviously, shooters are going to have stretches where they don't shoot it like they want to, and he certainly had his a little bit earlier," Utah State head coach Ryan Odom said. "He was able to break out of it.
"You love guys that are confident in their abilities, because it's not always going to be perfect for you, and you have to answer; and he has answered in a big way down the stretch for us. We wouldn't be where we are if he wasn't playing like he was playing."
Ultimately, the Aggies needed every bit of Funk's production since New Mexico refused to go away. Jamal Mashburn Jr. had 20 points, Jaelen House had 14, and New Mexico narrowed an 18-point Aggies lead to 8 points with six minutes remaining.
With Ashworth and Sean Bairstow on the bench with four fouls and the Lobos in the double bonus, Javonte Johnson scored a layup off a turnover that brought the crowd to its feet and shifted the momentum.
But the Aggies, facing the weight of being on the bubble and against a raucous Lobos crowd, never folded. RJ Etyle-Rock found Akin for a dunk on the following possession, Max Shulga buried four straight free throws, and Funk threw down the final dunk with seconds remaining in the game. And to the glee of hundreds of Aggies students who took over a corner of the arena, Utah State closed the game on a 16-9 run.
"Obviously, we knew they were eventually going to make a run," Akin said. "Obviously, just tried to stay focused and just get good shots."
There was, as Odom described, "a lot of pressure" going into the quarterfinal matchup for the Aggies: A loss would likely put its at-large hopes in jeopardy.
Funk's confidence to hit four 3-pointers to open the game seemed to ease the tension, and the Aggies played its best game offensively, shooting 47% from the field and 50% from 3-point range, which helped keep New Mexico at arms length.
"When you are in the situation that a lot of us are in right now, making a push and trying to make the dance, there's a lot of pressure," Odom said. "We tried to remove that from our guys as much as we could over the last couple of weeks and just focus on the task at hand.
"Taylor and his teammates did a great job today in this particular game of focusing on the task at hand, trying to defend at a high level, and certainly on certain possessions we came up short, but for the most part our guys did a really nice job."
As the Aggies now turn their attention to a Broncos team who eked by UNLV in overtime, they'll look to replicate the success.
"Yeah, obviously, we know it's going to be a battle, so I think we're well-prepared," Akin said. "We just played them a few days ago so we know the game plan. We can tweak it a little bit, but, yeah, I think we're ready for them, and they're ready for us. It should be a good game."
