Utah State commits 23 turnovers in 78-63 loss at New Mexico

Utah State committed 23 turnovers and were unable to keep pace with New Mexico in Albuquerque in Wednesday night, falling by a score of 78-63. Sophomore guard Sam Merrill led the Aggies with a career-high 33 points.

The loss dropped USU to 2-10 in true road games this season. Over the past two seasons, USU has gone 5-18 away from Logan.

The Aggies had opportunities in the first half to take control of the game, holding the Lobos to only 22 points through nearly 16 minutes of play. The offense struggled heavily against a full court press from New Mexico, turning the ball over 11 times in the first 20 minutes of play. Over the final four minutes of the first half, New Mexico went on a 14-7 run to enter the half with a 36-34 lead.

USU started the second half strong, using an 8-0 run to take a 42-36 lead with under 18 minutes to play. The Aggies and Lobos traded blows for several minutes before the combination of New Mexico’s full court press plus foul trouble for USU sophomore guard Koby McEwen spurred the Lobos on to a 17-5 run to take control of the game.

Merrill continued his streak of hot shooting during Mountain West play, shooting 11-16 from the field and 7-8 from behind the 3-point line, but also committed six turnovers in the game. McEwen added 10 points for USU, but also struggled with seven turnovers on the night. No other player for the Aggies reached double figures in scoring.

The loss dropped USU to 7-7 in MW play and seventh in the standings. The team is now 14-13 overall on the season.

Utah State will look to recover from the loss on Saturday night as the team welcomes top-ranked Nevada to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Tipoff is currently scheduled for 4 pm.