IRVINE, Calif. – Senior forward Quinn Taylor paced four Aggies in double-figure scoring with 21 points and freshman center Neemias Queta recorded the first double-double of his career as Utah State cruised to an 89-65 win over UC Irvine on Saturday night at the Bren Events Center.
Queta finished with 11 points and an eye-popping 19 rebounds for the Aggies (7-1), who dealt the Anteaters (7-2) their first home loss of the season. For Queta, it marked the first time he had grabbed more than nine boards in a game.
The 6-foot-11, 225-pound Queta nearly outrebounded UC Irvine all by himself as the Anteaters pulled down just 27 boards as a team – 14 fewer than the Aggies, who have yet to lose a rebounding battle this season.
Taylor shot 7-for-9 from the field, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range, to go along with six rebounds as Utah State led wire-to-wire. Junior guard Sam Merrill added 17 points and seven assists, and joined the 1,000-career-point club in the process. Merrill has now scored 1,007 career points to rank 36th all-time in school history.
The final Aggie to score in double figures was senior forward Dwayne Brown Jr., who chipped in 10 points, three steals, one rebound and one assist off the bench. Utah State has now won nine of the last 11 games against UC Irvine and leads the all-time series 34-28.
The Aggies finished the game shooting 52.5 percent from the field (31-of-59), including 54.2 percent from beyond the arc (13-of-24), and 73.7 percent from the free throw line (14-of-19).
Eyassu Worku was the lone Anteater to finish in double figures as he had 11 points. Former Aggie Elston Jones added seven points, two rebounds and one block in 16 minutes off the bench.
UC Irvine shot just 39.6 percent from the field (21-of-53), making just one of the 14 3-pointers it took on the night. The Anteaters were 22-of-31 from the free throw line for a 71.0 percent clip.
For the second consecutive game, the Aggies never trailed on the night. In fact, it was Queta that got Utah State off and running as he drilled the first 3-point basket of his career at the 18:53 mark of the first half.
Utah State led just 15-14 with 10:12 to go in the first half when Taylor hit a 3-pointer to ignite an 18-5 run that pushed the advantage to 33-19 with 3:07 left until the break.
The Aggies, who led 37-27 at intermission, pushed their advantage out to as many as 26 in the second half.
This was the first of three straight games away from the friendly confines of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum for Utah State, which will return to action on Wednesday, Dec. 5, when it takes on in-state rival BYU at 7 p.m., at the Marriott Center in Provo.
Fans can purchase season tickets, or on a game-by-game basis. Fans can purchase tickets at the Utah State ticket office, located on the first floor of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Tickets are also available online at utahstateaggies.com/tickets, or by calling the ticket office at (435) 797-0305 or (888)-USTATE-1.
Utah State men's basketball news and information is available on Facebook (facebook.com/usumensbasketball), on Twitter (@usubasketball) and on Instagram (@usubasketball). Fans can also get USU men's basketball highlights on YouTube (youtube.com/utahstateathletics). Aggie fans can follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter (@usuathletics), on Facebook (facebook.com/usuathletics) or on Instagram (@usuathletics).