Merrill, McEwen lead Utah State past San Jose State

Nineteen.

That’s how many wins the Utah State men’s basketball team has claimed in consecutive meetings against San Jose State, following an 81-75 Aggie victory over the Spartans on Wednesday night.

The 19-game winning stretch, which dates back to the 2007-08 season, is among the longest active winning streaks over a single opponent in Aggie athletics.

In the 10-year span, Utah State has beaten San Jose State eight times in the Spectrum and on nine separate occasions at The Event Center. In addition, the Aggies have defeated the Spartans twice in the playoffs – first in WAC quarterfinals in the 2007-08 season, then again in the WAC semifinals in 2010-11 season.

In fact, Utah State has beaten its now-Mountain West foe in 24 of the last 25 meetings dating back to the 2005-2006 season.

The last Spartan win came at San Jose on February 18, 2008, by a score of 70-67.

Utah State currently owns a commanding 57-21 advantage in the all-time series which dates back to December of 1935.

In the most recent match up, the Aggies’ freshman duo of Koby McEwen and Sam Merrill combined for an astonishing 45 points.

McEwen, who averages 14.4 points per game this year, finished with 23 points to go along with five assists and three rebounds. Merrill, who has averaged nearly 9 points per game this season, went off for a career-high 22 points, while tallying five assists, six rebounds and three steals.

McEwen and Merrill each scored 14 points before halftime.

Teammates Norbert Janicek and Jalen Moore finished with 15 and 14 points, respectfully.

Ryan Welage led San Jose State with 20 points in the contest; Jaycee Hillsman had 13, while Brandon Clarke had 12 and Isaiah Nichols had 11.

Game Notes

–          Koby McEwen has scored at least 20 points in six games this season.

–          Sam Merrill set a career-high for points in a single game with 22.

–          Jalen Moore has finished with double-digit point totals in all but one game this season.

–          Norbert Janicek hit double-digits in points for the second straight game and ninth in total this season

–          Utah State is 5-10 this year following a loss.

–          Utah State is 3-8 this year against plus-.500-in-conference-play teams and 3-2 against sub-.500-in-conference-play teams.