Merrill Leads Utah State Past Alabama State 86-48
Dec 15, 2018, 10:06 PM | Updated: 10:06 pm
Utah State's Sam Merrill (5) holds the ball against Alabama State at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan, Utah on Saturday, Dec. 15, 2018. (Kanyan Kaye, Utah State Athletics)
(Kanyan Kaye, Utah State Athletics)
LOGAN, Utah – It was close once but Utah State controlled the game the entire time as they picked up an 86-48 win over Alabama State at the Spectrum.
Sam Merrill had 16 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Neemias Queta scored 15 points to go with 7 rebounds and 4 blocks, Dwayne Brown Jr. added 14 points and 7 rebounds.
The Aggies hit 54 percent of their shots while outscoring the Hornets 44-12 in the paint.
Tobi Ewuosho led Alabama State with 11 points off the bench as the Hornets second unit scored 29 of their 48 points.
Merrill Leads Utah State To Hot Start
Utah State started the game with a 13-1 run that eventually inflated to 22-9 with 12:05 left in the first half. Merrill was a big part of that run with 9 points and Neemias Queta adding six points.
When the Aggies lead reached 33-9, Alabama State went on a 17-9 run but Utah State still had a big lead going into halftime, 44-28.
Merrill finished the half with 11 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 4-of-5 from the field. Queta added 7 points and 3 blocks. Utah State finished the half hitting 59 percent of their field goals.
Ewuosho had six points off the bench for Alabama State in just eight minutes on the court in the first half. The Hornets shot just 26 percent from the field, making just 8 field goals of their 30 attempts.
Second Half Almost Identical To First Half
Like the start of the first half, Utah State came out hot in the second half with an 11-5 to push the lead back to 55-33 after just four minutes of play in the half.
Utah State kept their foot on the gas as they outscored the Hornets in the second half, 42-20.
Final: Aggies win against the Hornets 86-48. @smerrill05 lead with 16 pts, @quinntay10r lead in rebound with 9. #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/cbTIJdl8Fy
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 16, 2018
Up Next
The Aggies improved their record to 9-2 and have won their last two games including four of their last five games.
They will travel to No. 24 Houston on Thursday at 6 p.m. Houston is 9-0 on the season and beat LSU 82-76 in their last game. The Cougars will play Saint Louis on Sunday before hosting the Aggies.
Utah State and Houston will be streamed on ESPN 3.
