Utah State Ends Poor First Half With 10-2 Run In MWC Title Game
Mar 7, 2020, 4:36 PM | Updated: 4:36 pm
Sam Merrill #5 of the Utah State Aggies calls out a play during a semifinal game of the Mountain West Conference basketball tournament against the Wyoming Cowboys at the Thomas & Mack Center on March 6, 2020 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
(Photo by Joe Buglewicz/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Utah State Aggies ended the first half on a 10-2 run to trail San Diego State 29-21 in the Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship game.
Utah State struggled on the offensive end throughout the first half until Sam Merrill led the Aggies on the run. They had a stretch midway through the first half where they didn’t score a field goal for over 13 minutes.
San Diego State didn’t shoot the ball well either in the first half but went on an 11-0 run during a stretch where Utah State went over 5 minutes without scoring.
Utah State’s leading scorer Sam Merrill went over 7 minutes without attempting a shot until he scored seven of the Aggies’ 10 points on the run.
Sam. MONEY. Merrill!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/oO81jyXM4W
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 7, 2020
Merrill finally stopped the drought with a bucket with 2:08 remaining in the first half but the Aggies were down 27-13.
The Aggies were fortunate to get a three-pointer from Diogo Brito at the buzzer to send his team to the locker room trailing by just eight points.
BRITO at the BUZZER!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/K4q1M35mSv
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 7, 2020
Merrill ended the first half with 10 points and 4 rebounds on 4-10 shooting from the field and 2-8 from the three-point line. Brock Miller, Neemias Queta, Justin Bean and Brito scored the other 11 points for the Aggies.
As a team, Utah State shot 30 percent from the field on 7-23 attempts and 3-14 for 21 percent from beyond the arc.
Yanni Wetzell had 9 points and 10 rebounds in the first half for San Diego State. The Aztecs shot 33 percent from the floor, 36 percent from the perimeter and attempted just one free throw. The Mountain West Player of the Year Malachi Flynn had just three points on 1-9 shooting.
