by: Wade Denniston, USU Athletic Media Relations
BOISE, Idaho – Trailing Boise State by five with 48 seconds to go, Utah State junior guard
Sam Merrill did not panic.
Merrill scored the Aggies' final seven points of regulation, including an old-fashioned three-point play with 16 seconds left to tie it at 68-all and sent the game to overtime, where Utah State pulled away for a 78-71 victory over the Broncos on Saturday afternoon at Taco Bell Arena.
With the win, Utah State improved to 22-6 overall and 12-3 in the Mountain West. The Broncos dropped to 11-16 overall and 6-8 in league play. Furthermore,
Craig Smith tied Ladell Andersen for the most victories by a first-year head coach and the 12 conference wins are the most ever for the Aggies since joining the MW.
Merrill eclipsed the 30-point plateau for the third time this season as he scored a game-high 32 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field, including 5-of-11 from 3-point range, and a perfect 9-for-9 from the charity stripe. He was 5-for-5 from the stripe during the final 41 seconds of regulation.
Three other Aggies joined Merrill in double-figure scoring as sophomore guard
Abel Porter had a career-high 16 points, redshirt freshman guard
Brock Miller tallied 11 and freshman center
Neemias Queta chipped in 10. Merrill and Queta led Utah State on the glass with eight rebounds apiece.
Queta opened the extra five-minute session with a dunk to give the Aggies a 70-68 lead. Utah State, which outscored Boise State 10-3 in overtime, never trailed again.
A basket by Queta to start the second half put the visitors up 39-30. Another basket by the USU big man, this time via the slam dunk, made it 59-50 with 5:50 remaining in the second half.
However, the Broncos didn't fold and used a 16-2 run to open its 66-61 lead with 48 seconds left. Justinian Jessup, who scored 21 for Boise State, capped the surge by knocking down three consecutive 3-pointers.
Fortunately for the Aggies, that's when Merrill took over.
Derrick Alston led Boise State in scoring with 22 points, while Alex Hobbs added 13.
Utah State never trailed in the first half and led by as many as 12 before taking a 37-30 lead into the break. Merrill scored 21 points during the first 20 minutes of play.
The Aggies shot 43.1 percent (25-of-58), including 34.6 percent from beyond the arc (9-of-26), and 79.2 percent from the free throw line (19-of-24). Utah State outrebounded Boise State 40-33, and had 13 assists on the 25 made baskets.
Boise State shot 42.1 percent (24-of-57), including 48.0 percent from 3-point range (12-of-25), but just 57.9 percent from the charity stripe (11-of-19).
Utah State will be back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 26, when the Aggies welcome San Diego State to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The game is slated to tip at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised live on the CBS Sports 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).