Shawn Williams had 13 points while Trevelin Queen and Johnny McCants both added 10 points to lead New Mexico State to a 65-45 win over USF in the semifinals of the Cayman Islands Classic on Tuesday.
Laquincy Rideau, 10 points, was the only Bull in double-digits. David Collins, Zack Dawson and Michael Durr each added six points. Durr grabbed a team high six rebounds in the loss.
USF will play at 5 p.m. in the third place game against the loser of the Nebraska/George Mason game.
RunningTheBulls.com covered the game and here is our Instant Analysis:
IT WAS OVER WHEN: New Mexico State went on an 8-1 run, all points came from Shawn Williams, to push its lead to 17 at 50-33. USF called timeout with 9:18 left in the game but it was over.
HE STOLE THE SHOW: Aggies point guard Shunn Buchanan controlled the game and he only took four shots. Buchanan ran his team, had five points five assists and two steals.
THE STAT DOESN’T LIE: So many to choose from but the bench points differential is glaring. The Aggies bench outscored the Bulls reserves 35-12. USF didn’t get any bench points until 12 minutes into the second half when Rashun Williams drained a three pointer off a pass from Xavier Castaneda.
THE BOTTOM LINE: USF played a team that, despite missing key players to injuries, just out defended them and made shots. I don’t care what team you are, you aren’t going to win many games when you allow your opponent to make 52.4 percent of its three-pointers and have the bench points differential that the Bulls were on the short end of today. The Bulls are 3-3 and will either play Nebraska or George Mason on Wednesday.