Utah State Knocks Off Weber State In Beehive Classic
Dec 8, 2018, 5:27 PM | Updated: 5:30 pm
Weber State Wildcats forward Brenden Morris (34) and Utah State Aggies forward Quinn Taylor (10) compete for a rebound at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Dec. 8, 2018. (Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
(Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Utah State bounced back from a disappointing performance against BYU and knocked off the Weber State Wildcats 76-67 in the Beehive Classic at Vivint Smart Home Arena.
Sam Merrill led the Aggies with 19 points while Neemias Queta added 15 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks. Tauriawn Knight finished with 10 points as the three Utah State players to reach double figures.
Four Weber State players scored in double figures led by Cody John with 16 points, Caleb Nero had 15 and Zach Braxton chipped in 14 points. Brekkott Chapman had a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
“It was a good bounce back game for us, Weber State is a dangerous team,” said Utah State head coach Craig Smith.
Fast Start For Utah State
Utah State started the game with a 7-0 run before Weber State made their first basket. But the Aggies countered with another run that had them up 21-7.
The Aggies continued to push the pace and score in transition and held a 39-27 lead at halftime. They shot 52 percent from the field as they hit 10 of their 19 shot attempts.
Weber State struggled shooting from the field and finished the first 20 minutes of play with 35 percent, making 7 of their 20 attempts.
Sam Merrill scored 11 points to lead the Aggies and Neemias Queta had 9 to help Utah State to the halftime lead.
Zach Braxton and Brekkott Chapman led the Wildcats with six points apiece while Jerrick Harding had four points.
Weber State Comeback Attempt
The first five minutes of the second half was fairly even with Utah State leading 46-33 scoring seven points and Utah State added six.
After trailing by 16 points, Weber State jumped on a 7-1 run to trim the lead to 10 points, 57-47 with 7:24 left in the game. That run inflated to 13-2 when Caleb Nero narrowed Utah State’s lead to 59-53.
The Aggies lost Queta with 4:03 left in the game when he fouled out with the Aggies holding a narrow 63-56 lead.
Just as Weber State was slowly climbing back into the game, Brock Miller hit a corner three-pointer to bumped the lead back out to nine with three minutes left.
Cody John scored with 1:44 left in the game to give the Wildcats a glimmer of hope, trailing 66:59. Nero converted on a three-point play to cut the lead to six points with 58.9 left.
Utah State hit free-throws in the final moments of the game to come away with a 76-67 victory.
Up Next
Utah State improved to 8-2 on the season and will be back in Logan on Saturday to face Alabama State. The game will begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network.
Weber State have lost two straight and have a 5-4 record. They will host Utah Valley next Saturday at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on Pluto TV.
