by: Wade Denniston, USU Athletic Media Relations
LOGAN, Utah – Junior forward
Alphonso Anderson had one of Utah State's five blocks against Colorado State, but it came at a pivotal time during the Aggies' thrilling 77-61 victory in front of 9,791 fans Saturday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
With the score knotted at 52-apiece following a pair of free throws by Anderson, the Aggies had the ball back and were looking to take the lead, but the Rams' Kris Martin stole the ball and raced toward the other end of the court. Anderson didn't give up on the play and raced back to the other end of the court to block the shot.
Following the block, the Aggies proceeded to score the next 11 points of the game and never looked back. In fact, Utah State (16-6, 5-4 Mountain West) ended the contest on a 27-9 run. The Rams (14-8, 5-4 MW) went scoreless from the field for six minutes, 34 seconds after taking a 52-50 lead on a 3-pointer by Kris Martin with 12:09 left in the second half.
In fact, Colorado State went nearly eight minutes between field goals during the game-changing surge by Utah State.
Sam Merrill scored in double figures for the 13th-straight game as the Utah State senior guard poured in a game-high 28 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-7 from behind the 3-point line. Sophomore forward
Justin Bean was one rebound shy of recording his 13th double-double of the season as he had 13 points and nine rebounds.
Sophomore center
Neemias Queta also scored in double figures for the Aggies with 10 points, to go along with seven rebounds, five assists and three blocks. Anderson scored eight off the bench.
Nico Carvacho and Adam Thistlewood had 14 points apiece to lead the Rams, while David Roddy chipped in 10.
Early on, it appeared as if the Aggies were going to run away with it as they led by 14 with 8:22 remaining in the first half. However, the Rams closed the half on a 17-6 run to pare the deficit to 31-28 at the break.
Colorado State opened its largest lead of the night at 49-46 with 13:28 to go after Carvacho converted a layup. Utah State senior guard
Diogo Brito answered at the other end with a 3-ball just 21 seconds later.
Junior guard
Abel Porter went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe to give the Aggies a 50-49 lead before Martin drilled his 3-pointer to put CSU in front for the final time of the night.
Utah State shot a season-high 59.2 percent from the field (29-of-49), including 43.8 percent from 3-point range (7-of-16), and 75.0 percent from the charity stripe (12-of-16). The Aggies had 20 assists on their 29 made field goals, marking the seventh time this season USU has had at least 20 helpers in a game.
The Aggies held the Rams to 37.3 percent shooting from the field (22-of-59) and 29.2 percent shooting from 3-point range (7-of-24). Colorado State was 76.9 percent from the free throw line (10-of-13).
Utah State returns to action on Tuesday, Jan. 28, when the Aggies travel to Laramie, Wyo., to face Wyoming (5-16, 0-9 MW. The game, which will be televised live on ESPNU, is slated to begin at 9 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).
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