A dozen games into the 2020-21 season, Colorado State had yet to play in front of any fans.
So it seemed a little unfair that the Rams had to battle a Utah State team Tuesday night that had not only won 10 straight games but also had a relatively large crowd of 1,553 Aggie fans rooting against them at the Spectrum.
“I thought we did a really good job on the defensive end. That’s just our identity. And we also shared the ball really well tonight, too. But it was a battle. We wanted to be the ones that played the whole time. They’re a really good team, and you can’t let up any kind of lead against them.” — Utah State center Neemias Queta
And then there’s the issue of the reigning Mountain West Player of the Week, Neemias Queta, who picked right up where he left off last week against San Diego State. The junior center continued his dominating play in the paint by racking up 18 points, 12 rebounds, three blocks and two assists in Utah State’s 83-64 victory over the Rams.
“If Neemias Queta is right there in the paint and you don’t have a body on him, unless you’ve got a chainsaw, he’s going to get the offensive rebound,” CSU head coach Niko Medved said of Queta, who has posted four straight double-doubles.
Queta had four of USU’s 13 offensive rebounds, as the Aggies (12-3 overall, 9-0 in the Mountain West) controlled the boards by a 44-25 margin. But the home team was also good from the perimeter, going 10 for 19 from 3-point range as a team, while junior guard Brock Miller totaled a season-high six 3-pointers and a season-high 20 points in just 29 minutes.
“Brock is a really good pressure reliever,” Queta said of Miller. “... With him shooting like that out there, they can’t really double-team me. He’s such a good weapon for us.”
Utah State’s 11-game winning streak is the longest for the Aggies since the 2012-13 team won 13 straight contests under former head coach Stew Morrill. Tuesday’s victory also lifted Utah State into solo possession of first place in the conference standings — at least temporarily. Boise State (12-1, 8-0) will put its 12-game winning streak on the line Wednesday night when the Broncos host Fresno State (5-5, 3-5).
The Aggies will try to increase their streak to 12 victories in a row Thursday night at the Spectrum, again against Colorado State (10-3, 7-2), and USU head coach Craig Smith is expecting a tough battle in the rematch.
“They’re very good,” Smith of the Rams, who rallied back from a 26-point deficit to beat San Diego State earlier in the year. “Now we have to be able to bounce back on a quick turnaround and play our fourth games in eight days and find a way to take care of business.”
Utah State took care of business relatively early against the Rams on Tuesday. Up 17-15 with 11 minutes to go in the first half, the Aggies went on a 15-3 tear to build a 14-point lead and never led by less than double digits the rest of the night.
Queta put together a particularly impressive sequence during that stretch. After blocking a shot by CSU’s David Roddy, the Portugal native grabbed the ball off of Roddy’s back and then fired the ball up the court. Although teammate Steve Ashworth missed a 3-pointer at the other end, Queta rebounded the ball and was fouled. The 7-foot center made the first free throw, but after he missed the second, he ended up being fouled by Roddy to set up an inbounds play for the Aggies along the baseline.
Queta scored on that play, going up and over Roddy with his left hand from the right side of the basket, to put Utah State up 24-15 and force Medved into calling timeout in an attempt to stop the Aggies’ momentum.
“I thought we did a really good job on the defensive end,” Queta said. “That’s just our identity. And we also shared the ball really well tonight, too. But it was a battle. We wanted to be the ones that played the whole time. They’re a really good team, and you can’t let up any kind of lead against them.”
Up 44-29 at halftime, Utah State let the Rams get back to within in 11 points before pulling away by an even wider margin. Miller’s sixth 3-pointer with 6:08 left was the high-water mark, putting the home team up by 26 points.
As a team, Utah State shot 45.6% from the field while going 21 for 28 from the free-throw line. Senior forward Alphonso Anderson came off the bench to knock down two 3-pointers and score 12 points, and freshman guard Ashworth, who played a key role during USU’s first-half run, finished with five points, five rebounds and four assists with no turnovers.
The Rams shot 40.4% as a team, but went just 9 for 27 from 3-point range. Sophomore guard Isaiah Stevens led the guests with 16 points, while junior forward Adam Thistlewood added 14 points.
“I was really excited with how we defended, specifically in the first half,” said Smith, whose team hasn’t surrender more than 64 points to an opponent during its 11-game winning streak.