Merrill with 16 points, Utah State buries Alabama St. 86-48

Dec 16, 2018, 04:43 am

LOGAN, Utah -- Sam Merrill scored 16 points with five rebounds and five assists, leading five players in double-figure scoring, as Utah State buried Alabama State 86-48 on Saturday night.

Merrill was 5 of 9 from the field for the Aggies (9-2). Neemias Queta added 15 points and seven rebounds, Dwayne Brown Jr. had 14 points and seven rebounds, Crew Ainge had 11 points and six rebounds and Diogo Brito chipped in 10 points.

Utah State shot 54.5 percent from the field compared to 21 percent for Alabama State which took 19 shots from beyond the arc but made only four of them.

Quenta made back-to-back layups to open the scoring and the Aggies never looked back, surging to a 30-9 lead midway on a Merrill 3-pointer and building to a 44-28 advantage at the break.

Alabama State collapsed in the second half, scoring its last field goal on a Tobi Ewuosho layup with 9:40 left.

Ewuosho led the Hornets (2-6) with 11 points with four rebounds.