FRESNO, Calif. – For the second time this season, Utah State and Fresno State went down to the wire. This time, the Aggies made sure they weren't the ones disappointed at the end.
Freshman center
Neemias Queta had arguably his best game as an Aggie, filling the stat sheet with 18 points, 15 rebounds, a career-high six assists and four blocks to help Utah State win its seventh in a row, 82-81 over the Bulldogs on Tuesday night at the Save Mart Center.
Sam Merrill had a team-high 20 points as the Aggies (18-5, 8-2 Mountain West) avenged a 78-77 loss to Fresno State on Jan. 9 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The junior guard was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line, the final two coming in the waning moments to give Utah State an insurmountable 82-78 lead.
Deshon Taylor, who scored 17 points for the Bulldogs (16-6, 7-3 MW), hit a 3-pointer as time expired. Fresno State's Braxton Huggins led all scorers in the game with 26 points, while Sam Bittner added 13 points.
Utah State took over sole possession of second place in the Mountain West with the win.
With his four swats in the game, Queta broke the single-season blocks record of 59 set by Shawn Daniels during the 2000-01 campaign. Furthermore, Queta's 60 blocks are the most-ever by a freshman in a single season and he has tallied at least one block in all 23 games.
Joining Merrill and Queta in double-figure scoring for the Aggies, who improved to 6-3 on the road this season, was redshirt freshman guard
Brock Miller, who had 17, including knocking down five of Utah State's dozen 3-pointers on the night.
Just like the Aggies did in the first meeting with the Bulldogs, they led nearly the entire way, but found themselves trailing 67-64 with 8:22 to go following a 3-pointer by Bittner – just the second time Fresno State led in the game, both times coming in the second half.
Utah State's
Abel Porter hit a 3-ball of his own with 7:56 left to knot the game at 67-apiece. The sophomore guard then gave the Aggies the lead for good a minute later when he went 1-for-2 at the charity stripe to make it 68-67.
In fact, those four points by Porter sparked a 9-0 run by Utah State, which opened a 73-67 lead with less than five minutes to go. The Aggies couldn't create more separation than that, though.
On four separate occasions down the stretch, Fresno State pulled within two, but could never get over the hump. Huggins hit a straight-away jumper to make it 77-75 with 41 seconds to go, but the Aggies answered in a huge way when senior forward
Quinn Taylor splashed home his only 3-pointer of the game, helping USU open an 80-75 lead with 14 seconds remaining.
Utah State jumped out to a 7-2 lead behind five points from Merrill and two more from Miller, but Fresno State responded with a 5-0 run to knot the game at 7-apiece. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Miller just 32 seconds apart ignited a 13-0 run for the Aggies as the visitors opened a 20-7 lead – their largest of the game.
Merrill capped the spurt, which included Queta drilling his second 3-pointer of the season, with a tough mid-range jumper from the left baseline.
Fresno State didn't throw in the towel, though. The Bulldogs countered with a run of their own, 17-7, to trim the deficit to 27-24 with 8:52 to go in the half. Huggins, who scored 15 in the first half, capped the spurt with back-to-back 3-pointers.
Queta nearly had a double-double in the first half alone with nine points and seven rebounds, to go along with three assists and a block, as the Aggies led 43-37 at the break.
Utah State finished the game shooting a sizzling 54.5 percent from the field (30-of-55), including 46.2 percent from beyond the arc (12-of-26), and 76.9 percent from the free throw line (10-of-13).
The Aggies narrowly edged the Bulldogs on the boards 30-28, and had 18 assists on their 30 made baskets.
Fresno State shot 49.2 percent from the field (29-of-59), including 44.4 percent from 3-point range (12-of-27), and 78.6 percent from the free throw line (11-of-14).
Utah State will remain on the road this weekend when the Aggies return to California to pay a visit to San Diego State (13-8, 5-3 MW) on Saturday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. (MT).
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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