Aggies down Wildcats in Beehive Classic win

Led by 19 points from Sam Merrill, Utah State returned to its winning ways Saturday with a 76-67 win over Weber State in the annual Beehive Classic at Vivint Smart Home Arena

Both teams entered the game having suffered defeat in their previous games. The Aggies (8-2) fell on the road to BYU 95-80. The Wildcats (5-4), who beat BYU earlier this season, were downed by Fresno State 71-52. USU’s loss to the Cougars on Wednesday was just the second loss of the season for the team.

“It was a good bounce-back game for us,” USU head coach Craig Smith said of Saturday’s win. “(The Wildcats) are a dangerous team. I thought our guys got off to a great start. We played with a lot of force, a lot of aggression. We were really in attack mode in a major way on both offense and defense.”

Both Merrill and freshman guard Tariawn Knight brought up the loss to BYU as well, pointing out how the team responded to the adversity of a 15-point road loss.

“Wednesday was a tough night for us losing at BYU,” Merrill said. “We felt confident going into that game and got boat-raced a little bit. We were really happy with the way we responded today against a good Weber team and I was happy we were able to get a win.”

Sam Merrill scores two of his team-leading 19 points against Weber State in the Beehive Classic at Vivint Arena. Photo by Megan Nielsen

Early in the game, USU dominated, scoring the first nine points and building a 21-7 lead after eight minutes. Neemias Queta and Sam Merrill powered the initial offensive push scoring 12 of those initial 21 points. In the first half, the team made just under 52 percent of its shots and was 5 for 9 on 3-point shots — a far cry from the 35 percent and 0 for 9 on Wednesday.

The Aggies’ defense proved just as key in the first-half dominance as the revitalized offense. It held the Wildcats to 34.5 percent shooting and 16.7 percent from deep. A team that had scored 100 or more points in three different games was held to 27 first-half points, giving Utah State a 39-27 lead at halftime. That lead, according to Smith, made things easier on the team in the second half.

“It’s always nice when you can play in front,” Smith said, “especially when you’re on the road or in a quote-on-quote rivalry game and coming off a loss.”

Weber State’s leading scorer on the season, Jerrick Harding (22.7 points per game), was held to just one field goal made and four points in the first half (2 of 10 for the game with nine points). Smith praised the defensive effort of Merrill and Diogo Brito, who were the primary defenders for Harding.

After running out to big lead, the Aggies maintained a double digit lead the rest of the opening period and most of the second half until just over six minutes remained in the game.

From the 8:39 mark to the 5:52 mark, Weber State went on a 13-2 run, cutting what was a 17-point lead down to just six points, 59-53. In that moment of put-up-or-shut-up, the Aggies put up.

A pair of free throws from Merrill, a layup from Brito and a 3-pointer from Brock Miller gave the offense the shot in the arm it needed after nearly three minutes with just two points. The defense allowed a pair of WSU buckets, but a nine-point lead was re-established. And though the Wildcats cut the lead back to six another couple of times, control remained with Utah State.

Saturday’s contest was the last part of a three-game stretch away from home for the Aggies. The team will return to play in the Spectrum Dec. 15 against Alabama State after a full week of rest.