Basketball: Lobos face another conference road test against Utah State

After pulling off an upset over San Diego State in sunny California, the Lobos will try to make it three in a row in the much colder location of Logan, Utah against the Utah State Aggies.

New Mexico (9-5, 2-0 MW) have started well in Mountain West Conference play, winning its first two games. But its opponent hasn’t been so fortunate, as Utah State (6-7, 0-2 MW) is mired in a three-game losing streak.

In their most recent games, the Lobos got by the Aztecs, 68-62, while the Aggies lost 78-73 to Air Force.

Although two Utah State players scored more than 20 points, Koby McEwen with a career-high 22 points and Jalen Moore with 21, their efforts were not enough. The Falcons controlled the game, leading for all but 20 seconds.

UNM head coach Craig Neal said the Aggies results in the last few games don’t mean Wednesday night will be easy, as the team is made up of several talented players.

“They have a good team coming back,” he said. “(Shane) Rector is really good, played for them last year. They’ve got probably the best freshman in the conference in McEwen and probably a first team all-league guy in Jalen Moore.”

Rector averages 1.77 steals per game, third highest in the conference. He is the third highest scorer in his team averaging 11.7 points per game. McEwen is the second highest scorer with 13.8.

Moore leads the Aggies with 17.5 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.

The two squads have posted nearly identical scoring numbers, both offensively and defensively. Utah State is averaging 73.3 points per game on 46.4 percent shooting, compared to 74.6 for New Mexico, which makes an average of 46.3 percent.

Last year, the Lobos took a 77-59 home win in January, but the Aggies got revenge the following month with an 80-72 victory on their home court.

The series favors Utah State, which holds a 21-8 advantage. However, the Aggies have lost four of its last six against the Lobos since they joined the Mountain West in the 2013-14 season.

But Logan, Utah is not an easy place to play, as the Lobos have only managed to walk away with two wins, both with Neal at the helm.

The Lobos have only collected two wins on the road in seven tries, but proved they have what it takes when it took out pre-season conference favorite San Diego State on Sunday.

The Lobos won that game in large part due to its free throw shooting. They went 20-of-26 from the line against the Aztecs and lead the Mountain West with a free throw percentage of 76.

KenPom also ranks UNM as No. 1 in the country with a Free Throw Rate of 53.4 and Free Throw Point Distribution of 28.8.

At the beginning of the season, Neal said he wanted to focus on defense. Today, the focus remains on defense but also on finding more energy on the offense.

New Mexico has two guys to rely on, Tim Williams and Elijah Brown. Both are on the top five in the conference for scoring average.

Williams is averaging 32.1 minutes of playing time and Brown 29.4, while scoring 17.6 and 16.7 points per game, respectively.

But the Lobos still need a third or fourth guy to step up and be a consistent scoring threat.

Sam Logwood and Jordan Hunter are the next two guys with the most playing time, but they haven’t seemed to find a rhythm.

Logwood averages 22.5 minutes but only averages 6.6 points per game. He led New Mexico with 20 points during the season opener against Idaho State. But the guard/forward has seen his average drop, hitting just two shots over his last five games.

Guard Jordan Hunter averages 21.6 minutes of playing time but has seen double figures only twice, averaging just 5.2 points.

Hunter won’t have a chance at improving these stats on Wednesday, as he turned his right ankle during the second half of the San Diego State match. Neal said in Monday’s press conference that Hunter is definitely sitting out.

But the head coach said it would give other guys an opportunity to get more minutes. He also said he is happy with the effort he is seeing from some individuals, one of them being Dane Kuiper.

“Dane’s played with a lot of confidence,” Neal said. “It’s good to see. Not only is he playing well offensively, he’s playing really good defensively.”

Kuiper has provided the team with a boost, despite a limited role. He has averaged 6.1 points in 15.4 minutes per game, and has the highest 3-point percentage on the team at 44.8.

Neal said he has seen his players growing and an away match against Utah State could be a good way to show that growth.

“It will be another test for our guys. I think our guys’ mindset is pretty good. They know it’s one step at a time and this is another step.”

Isabel Gonzalez is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. She mainly covers men’s soccer and basketball. She can be reached at sports
@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @cisabelg.