Players-only meeting lifts Utah Valley to upset over WAC-best New Mexico State

OREM — Utah Valley men's basketball knew it had a big game when welcoming Grand Canyon into the UCCU Center on Thursday.

And with one of the largest crowds of the year, a packed student section, and a self-marketed Blackout, the Wolverines fell flat, shooting just 39% from the field in a 79-69 loss to the 'Lopes.

What made it worse? UVU was set to host New Mexico State — the perennial and consistent top team in the Western Athletic Conference — two days later on Saturday afternoon. If GCU was a struggle, what would the best team in the WAC do to the Wolverines?

Turns out, not as much.

Fardaws Aimaq had 23 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and three steals, and former BYU point guard Blaze Nield added 14 points and six assists to lead the Wolverines to a 72-68 upset over league-leading New Mexico State.

Justin Harmon added 17 points, four rebounds and three assists, and BYU transfer Connor Harding supplied 10 points and six rebounds for Utah Valley, who channeled a players-only meeting before Friday's practice into one of the biggest turnarounds of the year.

"I think they cancelled a lift to meet — and I was thrilled as a coach," UVU coach Mark Madsen said. "When it starts coming internally, that's the sign of a mature team.

"They're talking about the elephants in the room. They talked about some nerves. I think today was the results of that players-only meeting."

The Wolverines (16-8, 7-5 WAC) had dropped two of the previous three games, splitting a road trip to Texas with Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston State to set up the invite-only special. And while Harding declined to discuss the specifics of the meeting, his tone suggest that it wasn't always pleasant — but was necessary in addressing several of the aforementioned elephants.

"I think it was just more about mentally being prepared and getting our minds right," said Harding, whose wife Paisley scored 18 points Saturday to help the BYU women to a third-straight victory at Saint Mary's. "The thing we need to focus on is that we're sixth in the league and our defense is sixth. WE understand if we can move our defense up, we can be top in the league. That's the difference between Thursday and today."

And while UVU treated Thursday's game like a big game, they also recognized the enormity — and urgency — of Saturday's contest, the first of two meetings with New Mexico State and GCU in the final eight games of the regular season.

"Every game is a big game; it doesn't matter if we're playing the bottom team in our league or some random team. Every game matters," said Harding, who hit two of the Wolverines' nine 3-pointers in the win. "When we play these better tams, Sam Houston, New Mexico State — we're right there every single time. We've go to do that every night, because every game is big this late in the season."

They opened like a big game, too.

The Wolverines spent more than five minutes of the first half without a bucket, but went up 32-29 at halftime after an 8-0 capped by Aimaq's second 3-pointer of the game at the buzzer.

New Mexico State shot just 25% from the field in the first half, including 1-of-9 from deep. Only two Aggies had multiple field goals, while Aimaq finished the first half with 10 points, four rebounds and three assists to go along with 10 more from Justin Harmon.

Utah Valley used a 7-0 run midway through the second half to start to pull away. But New Mexico State didn't make it easy the rest of the way, coming back from as much as 17-down in the second half as Teddy Allen scored 19 of his team-high 24 points after the break, including a 3-point-play on the fast break with 3 seconds left to pull the Aggies within 70-68.

But the Wolverines did just enough to keep the visitors at arms' length, including several clutch shots from Nield. The former Lehi High star went 4-for-4 from the field after halftime, including 2-for-2 from 3-point range to account for all of his scoring after the break.

"Credit to Blaze for not missing a shot in the second half. That always helps," joked Harding, whose team shot

"That's how you make shots — just find the open dude."

Mike Peake added 16 points and four rebounds for New Mexico State (20-4, 9-2 WAC) and Jabari Rice supplied 10 points, four rebounds and three assists for the Aggies.

"We had a lead late, and they made the lead evaporate. It came down to a 1-2 possession game," Madsen said. "I was proud of our guys. New Mexico State is the cream of the crop in the conference. We had a lackluster five-minute stretch against Grand Canyon, and Grand Canyon controlled the rest of the game. We talked a lot about being consistent, and I thought we were that tonight."

Utah Valley hits the road next Wednesday to face Tarleton State at 6 p.m. MST on ESPN+. The Wolverines then return to Utah next Saturday for a road tilt at in-state rival Dixie State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. MST at Burns Arena in St. George.

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