Aggies outlast Fresno State 82-81 in road battle

For the majority of this game, there was an eerily similar feel to the first meeting between these two teams back on Jan. 9 in Logan. A game that didn’t end well for the Aggies. In that game, from minute one until the final seconds Utah State led over Fresno State. That was until a three by senior guard Braxton Huggins gave the Bulldogs a 78-77 win.

This time it was Utah State which hit a three with the score at 77-75. Senior forward Quinn Taylor stepped up to make the shot to give the Aggies a five-point cushion with under 30 seconds left in the game, and eventually lead Utah State to an 82-81 road win.

“It felt like we couldn’t stop them forever. They were carving us up really good and at the same time, we kept answering the bell. It was almost a carbon copy at the end,” said Utah State head coach Craig Smith.

With payback on their minds, the Aggies opened up the game with a barrage of shooting and jumped out to an early 20-7 lead over Fresno State. By the ten minute mark, the Aggies had grabbed a 24-15 lead and were shooting over 70 percent from the floor. Junior guard Sam Merrill and redshirt freshman guard Brock Miller were the catalysts to the Aggies’ hot start, both shooting 3-4 for a combined 17 points.

Then, Fresno State started to assert itself and took the Aggies on a 9-0 run over the next three minutes, crawling back into the game. Fresno State used some hot shooting of its own and made the Aggies’ defense work to keep them from hitting shots from deep.

By halftime, Fresno State had closed the gap to six, and was out-shooting Utah State 61 percent to 52 percent. Led by Huggins, who had 15 points at the half, Fresno State was eager to make a fight of the contest.

“I feel like every single random loose ball went their way,” Merrill said. “Somehow, we just found a way. That’s incredible and we didn’t play our best game defensively. We found a way to win and that’s the calling card of our team.”

But the Aggies clung to a 43-37 lead at halftime, with the trio of Miller, Merrill, and freshman center Neemias Queta combining for 29 points.

The battle continued with the two teams trading points over the first five minutes of the second half. A Fresno State three tied the score at 50 a piece, causing Smith to call a timeout. The Aggies responded with a few made baskets, but it was Fresno State which took its first lead by a score of 64-62, just a few minutes later.

However, throughout Fresno’s run in the second half, the Aggies did a few things really well. Utah State held Huggins to only seven points through nearly 14 minutes, and stayed disciplined commiting just two fouls while giving away just three turnovers.

This allowed the Aggies to stay close, and eventually go on a 9-0 run of their own to take the score to 73-67 in favor of USU. Queta and his vast array of abilities were very much on display through this portion of the game. The Portuguese big man committed no turnovers and pulled in a statline of 18 points, 15 rebounds and six assists. But when the game was on the line, it was Queta’s frontcourt partner who made the shot that sent the Aggies home with a win.

QUINN TAYLOR!!!!!!!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/4mCsYhUfw3

— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 6, 2019

“I knew the way they were guarding Sam (Merrill) that past couple of plays they were going to sink off either me or someone else,” Taylor said. “It’s just the mentality we have on this team and that’s next man up. Someone has an open shot, we’re going to take it. It doesn’t matter who it is, and I’m just glad it went in.”

The Aggies’ 82-81 win gives them sole possession of second place in the Mountain West standings as they now heading down the home stretch with just eight games left to play.

“That’s seven-straight conference wins, which is the (longest winning streak) Utah State has (had) in the Mountain West,” Smith said. “That’s historic from that respect and it keeps up one game out of first, where we still can control our destiny with a very difficult game coming up on Saturday.”

On Saturday Utah State is back on the road to take on San Diego State for their first matchup of two against the Aztecs this season.

Twitter: @dren_sports