Utah State Hoops Hopes To Continue Winning Streak In First MWC Road Trip Against Air Force
Dec 30, 2020, 4:51 PM
(Photo courtesy of Eli Lucero, The Herald Journal)
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah State Aggies basketball team will play their first conference road games of the 2020-21 season against Air Force this week.
Utah State will play two games in three days at Air Force under the modified conference schedule due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last season, Utah State split the two meetings with the Falcons. Air Force won the first meeting of the season in Colorado Springs 79-60 on January 7, 2020. Brock Miller led the Aggies with 16 points on five three-pointers. Sam Merrill added 10 points.
The Aggies picked up a 72-47 victory in the return trip to Logan on January 21, 2020. Justin Bean notched a double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Merrill dropped 15 points and Neemias Queta chipped in 14. But Merrill is not with the Aggies. He is in the NBA with the Milwaukee Bucks.
UT ✈️ CO
Back 2️⃣ Business#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/YmkQOBZOQl
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 30, 2020
Utah State Feeling Good Going Into Air Force After SJSU Sweep
The Aggies got off to a great start in conference play with a pair of home wins over San Jose State last week. In their first win on December 21, Utah State beat the Spartans 107-62. Bean picked up another double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Miller made four three-pointers on his way to 14 points. Marco Anthony added 12 points.
Two days later, the win wasn’t as dominate but it was still a big margin with Utah State pulling off an 85-52 win. Rollie Worster led USU with 15 points, Miller added 12 points and Sean Bairstow scored 11 points off the bench.
Through 8 games this season, Marco Anthony is the Aggies’ leading scorer, averaging 13.4 points per game, along with 4.7 rebounds. Worster is posting 11.9 PPG, Justin Bean is putting up 11.8 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Neemias Queta is averaging 11.6 points and 8.9 rebounds per contest.
Air Force To Face Utah State After Long Layoff
The Falcons last played on December 20 when they beat Nevada by two points in Reno. Their game against Utah Valley that was scheduled for December 23 was canceled. Air Force is 3-3 this season and 1-1 in Mountain West play. They have wins over CSUN, Lamar and Nevada. Their losses came against Seattle University, Drake and Nevada.
Ringing in the new year the right way ⚡️ #LetsFly pic.twitter.com/X7SIvSnhWT
— Air Force Men's Basketball (@AF_MBB) December 28, 2020
Only two Air Force players average double figures led by Chris Joyce with 14.5 points per game and A.J. Walker recording 12.9 points per contest.
The first game between the Aggies and Falcons will take place on Thursday, December 31 at 2 p.m. MST and will be broadcast on CBS Sports Network. Second game of the series will be on Saturday, January 2 at 4 p.m. MST on Stadium.