Merrill, Queta Lift Utah State To Win Over Air Force
Feb 16, 2019, 4:14 PM | Updated: 4:36 pm
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – After a slow start in the first half, Utah State took over to beat the Air Force Falcons 76-62.
Sam Merrill scored 15 of his team-high 20 points in the second half, while also dishing out 6 assists. Neemias Queta had 17 points, 6 rebounds and 1 block. Diogo Brito chipped in a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
For Air Force, they were led by Lavelle Scottie with 25 points, including 18 points in the second half. Ryan Swan poured in 13 points and 9 rebounds.
The difference in the game was the Aggies scoring 19 points off of turnovers compared to the Falcons’ 10 points. They also out-rebounded Air Force 37-28.
Merrill, Queta Lead The Way
It was a slow start for the Aggies but after a 17-2 run, they were in control with a 23-17 lead with 8 minutes left in the first half.
Utah State kept the momentum, despite going through a two-minute scoring drought and took a 34-27 lead into the locker room.
Five minutes into the second half, the Aggies jumped out to a 7-4 advantage to take a 41-31 lead.
The offense turned up for both teams with 5 minutes left in the game and Utah State looked like they were very close to pulling away with a 68-54 lead.
Merrill led the Aggies down the stretch to pick up the win.
“That’s as pure, as pure gets.”#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/OFtFYKvGC1
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 16, 2019
Up Next
Utah State improved to 20-6 overall and 10-3 in the Mountain West Conference. They will face the New Mexico Lobos on Wednesday in Logan at 9 p.m. on ESPNU.
New Mexico is 11-13 overall and 5-7 in conference play. The last time these two teams met was on January 26, Utah State picked up a 68-66 win when Abel Porter nailed the game-winning three-pointer.
