by: Wade Denniston, USU Athletic Media Relations
LOGAN, Utah – Sophomore center
Neemias Queta scored a season-high 21 points, including 15 in the second half alone, to help Utah State rally from eight points down and beat UNLV 69-54 on Wednesday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Senior guard
Sam Merrill added 20 points, including 15 during span of 11 minutes, 58 seconds in the second half. His 3-pointer with 7:53 to go in the contest gave the Aggies (18-7, 7-5 Mountain West) the lead back for good. It also ignited a game-ending 21-6 run for the hosts.
With his 20 points on Wednesday, Merrill moved one step closer to becoming just the fourth Aggie in school history to surpass 2,000 career points. He is 21 shy of eclipsing that plateau.
Bryce Hamilton led the Runnin' Rebels (11-13, 6-5 MW) with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Amauri Hardy chipped in 10 points.
UNLV led 29-27 at the break and opened the second half on a 6-0 run, capped by Hamilton's layup that gave the Runnin' Rebels their largest lead of the night at 35-27.
Utah State methodically chipped away at the deficit until Merrill knocked down a couple of free throws to square the game at 44-apiece with 10:07 to go. Thirty-five seconds later, he made two more charity shots to give the hosts their first lead since the 1:30 mark of the first half.
Though he didn't score in double figures, finishing with six points, sophomore forward
Justin Bean grabbed double-digit rebounds for the 17th time this year as he tallied a game-high 11 boards. Queta added six rebounds, a season-high-tying five assists and two blocks in a career-high-tying 36 minutes played.
The Aggies limited the Runnin' Rebels to just 38.5 percent shooting from the field (20-of-52), including 26.7 percent from 3-point range (4-of-15). UNLV's 54 points are its fewest in a Mountain West game this season and its second-fewest in any game this year. Furthermore, Utah State has now held three of its last five Mountain West opponents to under 55 points.
USU shot 50.0 percent on the night, knocking down 24 of its 48 shots from the field. The Aggies made good on 37.5 percent of their shots from downtown (6-of-16) and converted on 75.0 percent of their free throw attempts (15-of-20).
Behind Queta's five helpers, Utah State had 19 assists on 24 baskets. Merrill and junior guard
Abel Porter chipped in four assists apiece. The Aggies also recorded nine steals and scored 13 points off of 14 UNLV turnovers.
Utah State returns to the court on Saturday, Feb. 8, when the Aggies welcome Boise State (16-8, 8-4 MW), to the Spectrum. The game, which will be broadcast live on the CBS Sports Network, 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).
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