by Wade Denniston, USU Athletic Media Relations
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – Utah State broke a close game open with a 13-2 run midway through the second half en route to picking up its ninth victory in its last 10 outings, the latest a 76-62 triumph over Air Force on Saturday afternoon at Clune Arena.
The trio of junior guards
Sam Merrill and
Diogo Brito, along with freshman center
Neemias Queta, combined to score 48 points for the Aggies, who shot 46.4 percent from the field on the afternoon (26-of-56), including 36.7 percent from the 3-point line (11-of-30), and 81.3 percent from the free throw line (13-of-16).
Merrill led Utah State in scoring with 20 points, to go along with six assists and two rebounds. Queta added 17 points, six rebounds and one block, while Brito recorded the second double-double of his career with 11 points and a career-high-tying 11 rebounds. Brito also stuffed the box score with a season-high four steals and a career-high two blocks. Sophomore guard
Abel Porter also scored in double figures for USU with 10, to go along with five assists.
Utah State improved to 20-6 overall and 10-3 in the Mountain West, marking the first time since the 2012-13 campaign that the Aggies have won 20 games in a single season. USU now leads the all-time series with Air Force, 17-5, including 7-5 on the road.
Leading just 50-44 with 12:05 remaining in the second half following a basket by Air Force's Lavelle Scottie, Utah State used its game-changing run to push its lead out to 63-46 with 7:42 to go. Redshirt freshman guard
Brock Miller ignited the spurt with a 3-pointer and the Aggies led by double digits the rest of the way.
Scottie led all scorers in the game with 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field, including 3-of-6 from beyond the arc and 2-of-4 from the free throw line. Ryan Swan chipped in 14 points for the Falcons (10-15, 5-7 MW), who had their two-game home winning streak against the Aggies snapped.
Air Force shot 42.0 percent on the day (21-of-50), including 38.9 percent from beyond the arc (7-of-18), and 68.4 percent from the charity stripe (13-of-19).
Behind Brito's 11 rebounds, the Aggies outrebounded the Falcons 37-28 and had 14 assists on 26 field goals.
Air Force came out of the gates hot, making four of its first seven shots to take its largest lead of the game, 10-3, less than three minutes in. Trailing by seven early on, Utah State quickly turned things around with a 20-4 run to open a 23-14 lead with 9:44 to go until halftime.
The Aggies never trailed after that and went into the break leading 34-27.
Utah State will be back in action on Wednesday, Feb. 20, when the Aggies welcome New Mexico to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The game is slated to tip at 9 p.m., and will be televised live on ESPNU.
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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