by: Wade Denniston, USU Athletic Media Relations
LOGAN, Utah – Junior guard
Sam Merrill had 19 points, six assists and two steals to help Utah State bounce back from its first loss in a month with a 76-59 victory over a pesky Wyoming team on Wednesday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
The 17-point margin of victory is not indicative of how close this game really was. With just 4:36 remaining in the contest, Wyoming's Jake Hendricks – a former standout at nearby Sky View High School in Smithfield – hit a 3-pointer to pull the Cowboys within 60-57.
That's as close as Wyoming would get the rest of the way, though, as Utah State (19-6, 9-3 Mountain West) closed the game on a 16-2 run. During the final 4:18 of the game, the Cowboys (6-18, 2-9 MW) shot just 1-for-8 from the field.
The Aggies have now won four straight at home and improved to 11-1 inside the Spectrum this season. Utah State has also won eight of its last nine games overall.
USU, which defeated the Cowboys 71-55 earlier this year in Laramie, swept the season series with Wyoming for the first time since the 1961-62 campaign.
Wyoming's Justin James led all scorers in the game with 26 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range, and 5-of-6 from the free throw line. He was the lone Cowboy to finish in double figures. On top of that, James and Hendricks played all 40 minutes.
A pair of Aggies recorded double-doubles on the night as freshman center
Neemias Queta and 14 points and 10 rebounds, while senior forward
Quinn Taylor tallied 13 points and grabbed 10 boards. That duo helped Utah State outrebound Wyoming 35-24.
Queta has now pulled down 10 or more rebounds in each of the last seven games, including five double-double efforts.
The final Aggie to score in double figures was sophomore guard
Abel Porter, who had 11 points, to go along with four assists and four rebounds.
Utah State very nearly had six players reach the double-digit point plateau as junior guard Diogo Brioto had nine points, to go along with four rebounds and four assists, while senior forward
Dwayne Brown Jr. contributed eight points.
The Aggies shot 49.0 percent from the field (24-of-49), including a sizzling 65.0 percent (13-of-20) in the second half alone. Utah State made good on 10 of its 20 3-point tries and converted 18 of its 25 free throw attempts.
Seven different Aggies had at least one helper as Utah State had 21 assists on 24 baskets.
The Cowboys shot 42.9 percent on the night (21-of-49), but only 26.9 percent in the second half (7-of-26).
Porter scored nine of the Aggies' first 12 points on a trio of 3-pointers to help the hosts build a four-point lead less than four minutes into the contest.
The Cowboys made good on four consecutive free throws at the other end of the court to knot the game at 12-apiece before Utah State seemingly took control of the contest with an 11-0 run. Merrill and Brown accounted for all 11 points during the stretch, including eight by Merrill.
The Aggies led 32-22 with 6:38 remaining in the first half, but couldn't put any more distance between themselves and the Cowboys. Wyoming closed the half on a 15-5 run to send the two teams into the break knotted at 37-apiece.
In fact, the Cowboys briefly took a 36-35 lead – their first since the 17:57 mark – with 43 seconds showing on the clock following a basket by James, who scored 12 of his points in the first half.
Utah State will be head back out on the road this weekend for a Saturday matinee against Air Force at Clune Arena. The game is slated to tip at 2 p.m., and will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network.
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).
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