by: Wade Denniston, USU Athletic Media Relations
LOGAN, Utah – Sophomore forward
Justin Bean had 16 points and 13 rebounds for his 12th double-double of the season to help Utah State cruise past Air Force 72-47 on Tuesday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Senior guard
Sam Merrill added 15 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Aggies (15-6, 4-4 Mountain West), who avenged a 79-60 setback at Air Force (9-11, 3-5 MW) just two weeks ago. Merrill's 15 points increased his career total to 1,901 and moved him to fourth all-time in career scoring, moving ahead of Cornell Green (1,890) and Brian Jackson (1,900).
Utah State entered the game having lost four of its previous five contests, but the Aggies were never in danger in this contest. USU scored the first seven points of the night, including a 3-pointer – his first of the season and just the third in his career – from sophomore center
Neemias Queta.
Queta finished with 14 points and two rebounds in 20 minutes. Senior guard
Diogo Brito also scored in double figures for the Aggies with 10 points, to go along with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. Over the last two seasons, Utah State is a perfect 25-0 when Brito scores in double figures.
Utah State limited Air Force to a season low in points and the Falcons' 25-point loss is their worst of the season. Furthermore, the 47 points scored by Air Force are its fewest in series history.
Lavelle Scottie led the Falcons with 13 points, while Ryan Swan chipped in 10 points and eight rebounds.
After Utah State opened a 10-point lead with 11:42 to go in the first half, Air Force pared the deficit to 20-17 on back-to-back free throws by Sid Tomes, following a technical foul called on USU head coach
Craig Smith, and a layup by Swan with 5:41 left. That's as close as the Falcons would get the rest of the way.
The Aggies ended the half on a 12-4 run to open a 32-21 lead at the break. Bean and Merrill combined for seven of those points.
Utah State's cushion ballooned to as many as 27 points in the second half.
USU shot 41.0 percent from the field on the night (25-of-61), including 32.1 percent from 3-point range (9-of-28), and 81.3 percent from the free throw line (13-of-16). The Aggies outrebounded the Falcons 45-34 and scored 16 points off of 13 turnovers.
Air Force shot a dismal 29.4 percent from the field (15-of-51), including just 15.8 percent from beyond the arc (3-of-19). The Falcons, who shot more free throws than the Aggies, made just 53.8 percent of their attempts (14-of-26).
Utah State returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 25, when the Aggies welcome Colorado State to the Spectrum. The game, which will be televised live on ESPNU (Comcast Ch. 400, DirecTV Ch. 208, Dish Ch. 141), is slated to begin at 8 p.m.
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).
-USU-