LOGAN, Utah – Utah State got its first Mountain West Conference victory of the season with a 79-62 victory over Air Force.

That’s a wrap! Utah State picks up its first conference win with a 79-62 victory over Air Force! #AggiesAllTheWay #LightTheABlue pic.twitter.com/OTiC9fC4m9

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 6, 2019

After being blown out by No. 6 Nevada on Wednesday, the Aggies dealt a blowout of their own to the Falcons in a wire-to-wire victory.

Wire-to-wire Win

The Aggies jumped out to a 5-0 lead and steadily built a large 44-28 halftime lead on a 17-7 run to end the half.

Right out of the gates @Bsmoov_22 knocks down the triple!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/sEOCjkxoaQ

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 6, 2019

The second half was much closer by itself with the Aggies outscoring the Falcons by just one in the half, but the damage had already been done in the first half as Utah State rolled to a 17-point win in front of their home crowd.

“It was a tough game to have coming off that loss to Nevada,” said Utah State’s Sam Merrill after the game. “Against Air Force you have to be really locked in and there is a lot of stuff you have to learn how to guard in a short time span. I thought we did a really good job defensively and got back to who we are offensively. We moved the ball really well and had a lot of assists. We made shots, and when you make shots, you usually win games. That was good for us.”

By The Numbers

Four of the Aggies’ five starters finished in double figures in the win. Merrill led the way with 18 points, he also completed the double-double with 12 assists.

🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀one basketball for every @smerrill05 assist so far tonight (that’s 1⃣2⃣ if you don’t want to count…)

— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) January 6, 2019

Quinn Taylor contributed 16 on 7-of-8 shooting. Brock Miller added 15 with five 3-pointers made and Neemias Queta chipped in 13.

The Aggies shot the ball well in the win, going for 55.8 percent from the field with 11 3-pointers made.

They also shared the ball tremendously well with 25 assists on 29 made field goals.

Next Up

Utah State will continue Mountain West Conference play by hosting Fresno State on Wednesday at 7 p.m.