LOGAN, Utah – Utah State turned it on in the final stretch of the second half to defeat Wyoming 76-59.

The Aggies had previously beaten the Cowboys 71-55 in Laramie on Jan. 12. In that contest, Sam Merrill played nearly the entire game and totaled a team-high 22 points while three more of his teammates finished in double figures.

WIN #19 ✅#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/sn1sbFzEr6

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 14, 2019

Merrill Continues Strong Play

A month later and in the friendly confines of the Spectrum, Merrill was on fire again. He started the game by making three of his first three attempts from 3-point territory. At the break, he had 13 points.

To start the game, Wyoming grabbed an early 8-6 lead before Abel Porter made back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Aggies a 12-8 advantage.

After the game was tied up again at 12-all, Utah State busted open a 9-2 run to take a 23-14 lead.

The Cowboys came back and tied the game up at 37-all before the halftime break.

AT THE HALF

All tied up at 37-37. #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/zHRDnA0Ee0

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 14, 2019

It was close action with the two teams playing back and forth until the final five minutes. Wyoming’s Jake Hendricks made a 3-pointer to bring the score to 60-57 for Utah State. That was Wyoming’s last glimmer of hope before the Aggies reeled off a 16-2 run to end the game and send the Cowboys back to Laramie with the loss.

The huge game-ending run was capped off by a nice alley-oop from Porter to Neemias Queta with little time remaining.

Nice guy.

Tries hard.

Loves the game.

Ladies and Gentlemen …. @nemi1599 pic.twitter.com/56LU1A5f8y

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 14, 2019

By The Numbers

Merrill finished with 19 points and four 3-pointers made and like the Wyoming game in January, had the help of three other teammates in double figures.

Queta turned in a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The win moved Utah State to 19-6 overall with a 9-3 record in conference play.

Next Up

The Aggies will next travel to face Air Force on Saturday at 2 p.m.