Merrill carries load as Utah St. eliminates New Mexico

Mar 6, 2020, 05:12 am

LAS VEGAS -- Sam Merrill scored 29 points on 10-of-15 shooting and Justin Bean had a double-double and Utah State beat New Mexico 75-70 in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament on Thursday night.

Merrill scored seven straight as he made four free throws and a 3-pointer. The free throws tied the game on both trips to the foul line, and the 3-pointer put Utah State up 68-65 with 2:43 left. Vance Jackson countered with a 3 to tie it. After Dioog Brito and Zane Martin traded baskets, Brito's 3 with 68 seconds to go gave the Aggies the lead for good. The Lobos missed their last three 3 attempts.

Bean scored 10 and grabbed 15 rebounds while Diogo Brito scored 15 for No. 2-seed Utah State (24-8).

Jaquan Lyle led the seventh-seeded Lobos (19-14) with 20 points, Corey Manigault scored 18 and Jackson 11.

Utah State advanced to play the winner between No. 3-seed Nevada and 11th-seeded Wyoming on Friday.

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