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Logan • Just when it looked like the season was slipping away, Utah State played one of its best games Tuesday night.
Chris Smith scored 19 points, Lew Evans added 15 and Jalen Moore finished with 11 to lead the Aggies to an 80-72 victory over New Mexico at the Spectrum. Utah State (12-11, 4-8 Mountain West Conference) snapped a five-game losing streak.
Elijah Brown scored 22 points for New Mexico, which fell to 14-10 overall and 7-4 in league play.
"Everybody on this team has been yearning for that one win," Utah State freshman forward Quinn Taylor said. "Everybody came out ready to play. … We were really tired of losing."
Trailing by eight at halftime, New Mexico scored six straight points to make it 40-38 with 18:25 remaining.
It was 45-42 when Utah State got some separation. Darius Perkins' three-point shot triggered a 7-2 mini-run that enabled the Aggies to regain a 52-44 lead.
The teams traded baskets over the next five minutes before Perkins' three-pointer and Jalen Moore's three-point play with 6:39 remaining gave the Aggies a 68-57 lead.
New Mexico never got closer than six.
"We all played our hearts out," Smith said.
Utah State, hoping to avoid its first six-game losing streak since 1992-93, started quickly.
Evans was fouled on the Aggies' first possession and missed two free throws. After an offensive rebound, however, he buried back-to-back three-pointers to give Utah State a 6-2 lead.
After New Mexico countered with a 14-5 run, the Aggies tied the game on Julion Pearre's layup with 9:39 left in the half to level the score at 17.
Utah State built a 26-20 lead before New Mexico freshman Anthony Mathis converted a four-point play, but the Aggies didn't crumble. They made four of their final five shots and grabbed a 40-32 halftime lead.
It was a far different script than the one that played out on Jan. 9 at the Pit in Albuquerque, where the Lobos took a 43-18 lead at the half and coasted to a 77-59 victory.
"We have to defend them, hold them to one shot, keep them off the foul line and do a better job of controlling the tempo offensively," coach Tim Duryea said early this week.
At halftime in this game, Smith had 10 points to lead Utah State. Evans added nine and Taylor contributed eight.
The Aggies shot 53.3 percent from the field, including 6 for 15 on three-pointers. The Lobos, who got nine points from Brown, shot 42.9 percent as a team.
Duryea had anticipated a good effort from his struggling team.
"They know they can play well for an extended period of time and that gives them hope and confidence," he said. "… Our guys have enough character that they'll hang in there and do everything they can."
Twitter: @sluhm —-
Storylines
R Chris Smith scores 19 points and Lew Evans adds 15 to lead Utah State past New Mexico, 80-72.
• The Aggies snap a five-game losing streak and improve to 12-11 overall and 4-8 in the Mountain West Conference.
• Elijah Brown tops the Lobos with 22 points. Tim Williams adds 21 on 9-for-12 shooting.
Utah State 80, New Mexico 72
NEW MEXICO (14-10)
Neal 2-10 1-3 5, Brown 7-16 4-4 22, Aget 1-2 0-0 2, Logwood 3-7 0-0 7, T. Williams 9-12 3-6 21, Hunter 0-2 0-0 0, Kuiper 0-0 0-0 0, Adams 3-5 2-2 8, Furstinger 0-2 0-0 0, Jacobs 0-0 0-0 0, Mathis 2-3 1-1 7. Totals 27-59 11-16 72.
UTAH ST. (12-11)
Perkins 3-5 1-2 9, Evans 3-7 6-10 15, J. Moore 3-11 4-5 11, Taylor 4-5 0-0 8, Smith 5-11 7-8 19, Rector 3-6 1-1 7, Pearre 3-5 0-0 7, Middleton 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 1-1 2-2 4. Totals 25-51 21-28 80.
Halftime—Utah St. 40-32. 3-Point Goals—New Mexico 7-19 (Brown 4-10, Mathis 2-2, Logwood 1-1, Adams 0-1, Hunter 0-1, Neal 0-4), Utah St. 9-25 (Evans 3-5, Perkins 2-3, Smith 2-6, Pearre 1-3, J. Moore 1-6, Rector 0-2). Fouled Out—Logwood, Taylor. Rebounds—New Mexico 31 (T. Williams 7), Utah St. 33 (Taylor 10). Assists—New Mexico 15 (Brown, Neal 5), Utah St. 15 (Smith 4). Total Fouls—New Mexico 22, Utah St. 16. A—9,290.