SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Utah State's season-high seven-game winning streak came to an end, despite a 35-point outing from junior guard Sam Merrill, while San Diego State extended its home winning streak to 11 straight with a hard-fought 68-63 victory over the Aggies on Saturday night at Viejas Arena.

Merrill, who shot 10-for-20 from the field, including 6-for-12 from 3-point range, and 9-for-10 from the free throw line, was the lone Aggie to score in double figures. It was Utah State's first loss since a 78-77 setback to Fresno State a month ago.

The Aggies (18-6, 8-3 Mountain West) have now dropped 11 straight to the Aztecs (14-9, 6-4).

SDSU had four players score in double figures, led by Devin Watson's 23-point outing. Jalen McDaniels added 16, while Matt Mitchell and Nathan Mensah each chipped in 10.

Merrill hit a couple of free throws with 17:40 remaining in the game to give the visitors their final lead of the night at 36-35. Just 17 seconds later, Mitchell scored on a jumper to propel the Aztecs back on top.

SDSU pushed its advantage out to as many as 10 in the second half with 9:09 left, but Utah State clawed back to within one, 53-52, with 6:42 to go following a 3-pointer by junior guard Diogo Brito. Unfortunately for the Aggies, that's as close as they would get the rest of the way.

Utah State shot just 39.2 percent for the game (20-of-51), including 41.7 percent from beyond the arc (10-of-24), and 76.5 percent from the charity stripe (13-of-17). Freshman center Neemias Queta led the Aggies on the glass with 10 rebounds, while sophomore guard Abel Porter handed out a team-high four assists.

The Aztecs, who outrebounded the Aggies 38-35, shot 37.3 percent on the night (22-of-59), including 33.3 percent from 3-point land (7-of-21), and 81.0 percent from the free throw line (17-of-21).

Mensah finished with a double-double for SDSU as he matched Queta with 10 rebounds, to go with his 10 points.

Utah State came out of the gates strong and led 10-4 with 14:53 remaining in the first half. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Merrill capped the early run by the Aggies.

Another 3-pointer by Merrill upped Utah State's lead to 18-8 with 10:30 remaining in the opening half, but those would be the final points the Aggies would score for the next five minutes.

While the Aztecs clamped down on the defensive end, their offense got going, as well. SDSU reeled off a 23-0 run to open up a 31-18 lead with 5:42 to go in the half. Merrill stopped the bleeding for the Aggies when he scored on a layup with 5:12 left.

In fact, Merrill scored the final nine points of the half by either team as he helped Utah State cut the deficit to 33-29 by the break. Defensively, the Aggies held the Aztecs scoreless over the final 5:42 of the half.

While Merrill shot 6-for-11 from the field during the first 20 minutes of play, including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc, Utah State was just 9-for-23 from the field (39.1 percent) from the field as a team.

Conversely, SDSU shot just 33.3 percent (11-for-33) during the first 20 minutes of play.

Utah State will be back at home on Wednesday, Feb. 13, when the Aggies welcome Wyoming to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The game is slated to tip at 7 p.m.

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