by: Wade Denniston, USU Athletic Media Relations
LOGAN, Utah – Senior guard
Sam Merrill scored 26 points and moved into fourth place on the all-time scoring list in Mountain West history, leading the Aggies to a 78-58 victory over Wyoming on Wednesday night in front of 9,452 fans at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Merrill shot 9-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range, and 5-of-5 from the free throw line as Utah State (22-7, 11-5 MW) swept the season series from the Cowboys (6-21, 1-14) for the second consecutive year.
The native of Bountiful, Utah, who now has scored 2,078 career points, also had five rebounds, four assists and three steals in 36 minutes of playing time against Wyoming. Merrill moved ahead of former Wyoming Cowboy Justin James for fourth all-time in MW scoring, as James finished his career with 2,061 points.
Sophomore center
Justin Bean recorded his team-leading 14th double-double of the year with 20 points and 14 rebounds, helping second-year head coach
Craig Smith notch his 50th win with the Aggies.
Smith, who is 50-14 in his tenure at Utah State, reached 50 wins faster than any coach in school history, bettering the mark of LaDell Andersen (1962-71), who notched his 50th victory in his 66th game with the Aggies.
Junior guard
Abel Porter was the final Aggie to score in double figures with 10 points, while sophomore center
Neemias Queta grabbed a career-high 15 rebounds to help Utah State outboard Wyoming 42-25.
TJ Taylor led the Cowboys, who have lost four straight and 12 of their last 13 games, with 16 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. Greg Milton chipped in 10 points off the bench and former Sky View High School standout Jake Hendricks had eight points, four rebounds and one steal.
Utah State owned the paint, outscoring Wyoming 40-24 down low. The Aggies, who led by as many as 23 on the night, also scored 22 points off of 14 Cowboy turnovers.
The Cowboys opened the scoring when Kwane Marble knocked down a 3-pointer just 22 seconds into the contest. The Aggies took their first lead of the night at 7-5 on a layup by Bean with 16:50 remaining in the first half.
Wyoming grabbed its second and final lead of the night when Brandon Porter knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 18-17 with 10:02 to go until halftime. About a minute later, Queta made a layup to put the hosts back in front for good.
Utah State found itself up only by three with 4:09 left in the first half, but closed on a 14-2 run to open up a 42-27 lead at intermission. The closest Wyoming got the rest of the way was 10.
The Aggies shot 50.0 percent (28-of-56) from the field, including 35.0 percent from 3-point range (7-of-20), and 88.2 percent from the free throw line (15-of-17). Led by senior guard
Diogo Brito's five dimes, Utah State had 18 assists on 28 made field goals.
Wyoming shot 36.8 percent (21-of-57) on the night, including 32.0 percent (8-of-25) from beyond the arc. The Cowboy made 72.7 percent of their free throws (8-of-11).
Winners of five straight and eight out of their last nine games, the Aggies remain at home next week to take on San José State on Tuesday, Feb. 25, for Senior Night. The game, which is slated to begin at 9 p.m. (MT), will be televised live on ESPN2.
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-