Bean, Merrill Lead Aggies To Win Over SJSU In Conference Opener
Dec 4, 2019, 11:58 PM
Utah State guard Sam Merrill, left, celebrates USU's victory over Nevada with teammate Justin Bean on March 2 at the Spectrum in Logan. Courtesy of Deseret News.
SAN JOSE, Calif. – No. 25 Utah State’s Justin Bean and Sam Merrill led the Aggies to a win in their first Mountain West Conference game of the season against the San Jose State Spartans.
The forward and guard put the Aggies on top of the Spartans 71-59 in USU’s first conference game of the 2019-20 season.
Bean and Merrill combined for 32 of Utah State’s 71 points in San Jose on Wednesday, December 4.
FINAL | 🔵🔵
Aggies defeat San Jose State 71-59 in the Mountain West opener! Yet ANOTHER huge night from @justinbean12, 18 points – 14 rebounds! #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/1KxGVCGs90
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 5, 2019
Bean shot 9-15 on field goals for 18 points. He pulled down 14 rebounds and added an assist and 3 steals.
Merrill went 5-14 on the floor for 14 points. He added 2 boards, 3 assists, and 2 steals in the win.
Every time we hear a TV announcer say, "Sam Merrill is not a terrific athlete." pic.twitter.com/fJFwZECpZl
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 5, 2019
The Aggies shot the ball 42.4 percent and only 23.5 percent from three-point range.
Utah State won the game by outrebounding San Jose State 42-34 and by forcing 15 Spartan turnovers.
With the win, USU improved to 8-1 (1-0 MWC) on the season. SJSU fell to 3-6 (0-1 MWC).
#25 @USUBasketball defeats @SanJoseStateMBB 71-59.
The Aggies improve to 8-1 on the season.
Justin Bean led with 18 points. Sam Merrill added 14 points. #AggiesAllTheWay
— KSL Sports (@kslsports) December 5, 2019
The Aggies continue conference play by hosting Fresno State on Saturday, December 7 at 4 p.m.
