Aggies Fall To Arizona State In Vegas
Nov 21, 2018, 11:42 PM
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Utah State Aggies narrowly lost to Arizona State 87-82 in the championship game of the MGM Resorts Main Event tournament. It was the first loss of the season for the Aggies.
A full 4️⃣0️⃣ minute battle.
Aggies fall just short to Arizona State. Headed back home to The Spectrum on Wednesday to take on Northern Iowa. #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/N3uklIvx8I
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) November 22, 2018
The game was close almost the whole way, with Utah State trailing at halftime for the first time this season. Towards the end, Utah State’s Sam Merrill hit a pair of free throws to bring the score to 73-70 for Arizona State. The Sun Devils extended their lead to 83-74 before John Knight III knocked down both of his free throws to cut the lead to seven. The teams traded baskets again before Knight came up with a steal and laid it up with 30 seconds remaining to pull the Aggies within five. That however, would be as close as they would come as Arizona State held on for the win.
By The Numbers
Merrill led the Aggies with 27 points with three 3-pointers made. Dwayne Brown Jr. added 14 points off bench. Knight turned in 13 points while Brock Miller added 10 of his own.
The Sun Devils were led by Luguentz Dort who finished with 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field.
Key Stat
Both teams made seven 3-pointers but the Sun Devils made theirs at a far more efficient clip, converting on 14 attempts to 23 by the Aggies.
Up Next
Utah State will next host Northern Iowa next Wednesday at 7 p.m.
