LOGAN, Utah - Utah State men's basketball knocked down both of its opening triples and never trailed as the Aggies posted an 80-70 victory over the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday night inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Sophomore center Neemias Queta led the Aggies in scoring with a season-high 19 points, on 8-of-12 shooting, and added seven rebounds and one assist. Senior guard Sam Merrill flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 12 points and game highs of eight rebounds and eight assists. Fellow senior Diogo Brito matched Merrill's scoring numbers, wrapping up the game with 12 points and adding six rebounds, two steals, one block and one assist. Sophomore guard Brock Miller and junior guard Abel Porter rounded out the Aggies in double figures, finishing with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
USU (14-5, 3-3 MW) returned to form on the glass, outrebounding Nevada 43-28, and scored 36 points in the paint, compared to 22 by the Wolf Pack. The Aggie bench also came out of a funk, outscoring Nevada's reserves 25-15. Freshman guard Sean Bairstow appeared in 23 minutes off the bench, his most minutes against a Division I opponent this season, and finished with eight points, three assists and two rebounds.
Nevada (10-7, 3-2) was led by junior guard Jalen Harris with a game-high 31 points. He was followed by senior guard Jazz Johnson with 18 as the Wolf Pack finished the game shooting 39.0 percent (23-of-59) from the floor, including 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from behind the 3-point line.
Utah State used a pair of threes out of the gate from Miller and sophomore forward Justin Bean to take a 6-0 lead and never looked back. The USU lead grew to as much as 16 points in the opening half before the Wolf Pack answered with a 10-0 run over a two-minute span to whittle the difference back to six, 24-18, with just over five minutes until the half. The Aggies ultimately went into intermission with a nine-point lead, 32-23, as a final triple by Merrill missed the mark as the horn sounded.
USU finished the game shooting a blazing 65.0 percent (13-of-20) from the floor over the final 20 minutes, while also converting at the charity stripe, shooting 81.8 percent (18-of-22) at the free throw line in the second half. A Queta layup at the beginning of the second stanza gave the Aggies an 11-point lead and the double-digit margin held throughout the rest of the game.
Utah State will now have a week off before returning to the court at Boise State on Saturday, Jan. 18, at 8 p.m. Fans can watch the game live on ESPNU (Comcast Ch. 400, DirecTV Ch. 208, Dish Ch. 141).
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).