LOGAN — Utah State has been bit by the injury bug for the majority of the 2017-18 season. Its frontcourt is depleted with center Nobert Janicek out for the season due to knee surgery and Klay Stall out for the season following back surgery.

Alex Dargenton has seen limited time while dealing with a leg injury. Julion Pearre hasn't played in almost two months. True freshman Brock Miller is out for the season with a foot injury.

You get the idea.

Enter reigning Mountain West Conference freshman of the year Koby McEwen. The sophomore guard finished with a career-high 31 points and a career-high 13 rebounds to help USU win the battle of the depleted lineups, 89-80, over New Mexico Wednesday night in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

McEwen scored the first eight points of the game for the Aggies and actually led New Mexico, 8-2, all by himself six minutes into the first half.

New Mexico came into Wednesday night with just seven players who traveled from Albuquerque. One player was suspended on Tuesday, another is dealing with a concussion, and two are transfers and not eligible to play.

However, the Lobos hung in there and trailed by just three points after Anthony Mathis hit his sixth 3-pointer of the night and Troy Simons threw down a hammer dunk with 1:03 left to play.

Utah State closed it out with a Quinn Taylor layup and four made free throws between McEwen and Diogo Brito.

Here are three takeaways from the Aggies' win.

The Koby McEwen Show

He scored the first eight points of the game for the Aggies, showed the bank was open with a deep 3-pointer and made spectacular plays not just for himself but for his teammates all night.

McEwen finished with six assists to go with his career-highs in points and rebounds. Did we mention that he also played all 40 minutes of Wednesday night's contest? It is the 14th time in 2017-18 that McEwen has scored in double figures and the 38th time since beginning his career at USU in the 2016-17 season.

Lobos use 3-point shooting to make late run

The USU faithful were chanting "prima donna, prima donna" at New Mexico guard Anthony Mathis late in the second half as he was at the free-throw line.

Mathis made both freebies and decided to go on an 11-0 run all by himself to help the Lobos cut the deficit to five with 2:04 left. Mathis finished with a team-high 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting, including a 6-of-10 night from beyond the arc.

All-in-all, New Mexico hit eight 3-pointers in the second half, but when Mathis fouled out with 32 seconds left, it kind of took the air out of the Lobos.

Will lack of depth/bench play hurt USU down the stretch?

Quinn Taylor played 32 minutes. Dwayne Brown Jr. played 34 minutes. Sam Merrill played 35 minutes. Brito played 38 minutes and McEwen played the entire 40 minutes in Wednesday's win over New Mexico.

In Saturday's win over Fresno State, four of these starters played 32 minutes or more. Brito, Merrill and McEwen each played at least 38 minutes.

After the win over New Mexico, USU head coach Tim Duryea said his bench play was awful. The preparation was bad and they were not ready to play. It is why McEwen had to play the entire game and why Duryea felt he couldn't sub in the second half.

Whatever the case, USU has to use the upcoming bye week to get rest and get healthy. The next time the Aggies step on the floor is on Feb. 7 at Wyoming. And the high plains aren't friendly to visiting teams.

USU improves to 13-11 overall and 6-5 in MWC play. For now, USU has won three straight. With the second half of conference play starting, getting a lot of rest over the next 10 days is essential for the Aggies.

Kyle McDonald is sports fan who loves the Chicago Cubs. Follow him on Twitter at @kylesportsbias

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