The Cowboys struggled immensely in the second half of their loss to the Utah State Aggies after only trailing by 2 at halftime. The game drops the Cowboys to 1-2 in conference play and 8-8 overall.
The Aggies opened the game with an early hit from beyond the arc, as well as an old fashioned three point play. Brendan Wenzel started the scoring for the Cowboys with two free throws, but the Cowboys turnover woes from last game carried over, and would lead to an easy two for the Aggies. Mason Walters would answer, though, with his first three of the night and a nice lay-in down low to make it 10-7 in favor of the Aggies. Akuel Kot knocked down a step-back three and Walters and Wenzel scored down low again to tie the game up at 14-14, as the Cowboys were shooting very effectively early. The Aggies went on a small run mostly due to unforced turnover by the Cowboys, but they wouldn’t let it get out of hand as Kot scored in the lane and Wenzel knocked it down from beyond the arc to make it 20-19 for Utah State.
The Cowboys struggled from the field from this point, though, as they’d go on a three minute drought and the Aggies scored six straight until Kot drove into the lane and scored on an and-one play. The Aggies were on a 10-2 run taking a 30-22 lead late in the half before Newton knocked down his first three of the night and Sam Griffin scored off a nice backdoor cut. Kot cut the lead down to a point before the Aggies could answer. Walters cut the lead back down to 1 at the line. The Aggies pushed the lead back out to 4 but Walters capped off a nice half by scoring down low in the dying seconds to keep the Cowboys within 2 at 35-33.
The Cowboys shot well for the half, sitting at 44.4% from the field and 36.4% from beyond the arc while holding the Aggies to 11.1% from beyond the arc. While the Cowboys did have some costly turnovers, they reduced that number immensely from the previous game down to only 7 in the half. The Cowboys also held a one board advantage in the rebounding category.
The Aggies came out scoring early down low as well as hitting just their second three pointer of the contest for an early 5-0 run. The Cowboys struggled early, and they couldn’t get anything to fall with multiple turnovers early, allowing the Aggies to open up an 11 point lead. Griffin finally scored the first point of the half for the Cowboys with a big three but that would be quickly answered by the Aggies. Caden Powell and Cam Manyawu scored their first points of the game, but the Aggies lead spiraled up to 18 and they were out scoring the Cowboys 20-6 in the second half. The Cowboys made an effort to come back into the contest but they continued to be their own worst enemies with their turnovers, and the Aggies had pushed their lead out to 66-45. The Cowboys continued to fight back with Oleg Kojenets and Kael Combs scoring their first points of the night from the free throw line, but the Aggies continued to have the answer. The Cowboys dropped the contest 83-59 after being outscored by 22 in the second half.
“I thought in the first half we put ourselves in position going into halftime, problem is it isn’t a 20 minute game, it’s a 40 minute game,” head coach Jeff Linder said postgame. “A good team like this, in this building, they make you pay when you turn the ball over, like New Mexico did.”
The Aggies did make the Cowboys pay for their turnovers, as they turned them into 17 points. The Cowboys also had some tough shooting woes after the first half, as they’d end the contest at 40% from the field and 27.8% from three. The Aggies also ended up out rebounding the Cowboys by 5 with 28 rebounds compared to the Cowboys’ 23. The Cowboys’ early giveaways were also a big reason for their tough second half, as they ended the game with 15 turnovers. The Cowboys were also heavily outmanned in the paint, as they were outscored 48-22 in the paint.
Walters led the Cowboys offensively with 17 points. Akuel Kot was the only other player in double figures for the Cowboys with 14 on the game. The Cowboys were led on the glass by Wenzel with 7 boards.
The Cowboys will be back at home on Saturday to take on the Fresno State Bulldogs at 2 p.m.
