Sam Merrill Has Played Every Minute In Last Four Games

Mar 5, 2019, 10:10 PM | Updated: Mar 6, 2019, 1:54 pm

(Rick Parker, USU Athletics)

KSL Sports

FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Utah State star guard Sam Merrill capped the regular season with a career night. He had a career-high 38 points and 8 rebounds in the Aggies’ 100-96 overtime win over Colorado State.

Merrill is second in the Mountain West Conference in scoring with 20.5 points per game.

It was the fourth game this season that Merrill scored 30 points or more in a game. He has reached 20 points or more in 14 games. His previous career-high was when he scored 37 points in the season opener against Montana State.

In the last two weeks, Merrill has been a big part of the Aggies’ wins. He tied the game up late in the second half to send the game into overtime against Boise State on February 23. he had 17 points in the first half to lead the Aggies to a statement win over No. 12 Nevada in Logan on March 2 and finished the regular season with a career high 38 points.

Hasn’t Missed A Minute

A very impressive feat that Merrill has accomplished in the last four games this season was that he hasn’t missed a single minute on the floor. He was never sent to the bench either. Merrill played all 45 minutes of the Aggies overtime win over Boise State, all 40 minutes in their wins over San Diego State and Nevada and all 45 minutes against Colorado State.

The Bountiful, Utah native has averaged almost 35 minutes per game this season. He has played at least 38 minutes in the last seven games. Merrill didn’t reach 30 minutes in five games this season, all were games that the Aggies won handily.