Air Force Academy
Utah State
Utah State shoots past Air Force, 71-49
1/24/2018 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Sam Merrill scored 21 points and Koby McEwen added 20 as Utah State beat Air Force, 71-49, Wednesday night in a Mountain West men's basketball game at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logo, Utah.
The Aggies out-scored Air Force, 15-4, to open the second half and race to a 44-29 lead with 14:26 to play. Merrill scored 11 points to key the run and Utah State never looked back. Air Force never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way. The Aggies went on to lead by as many as 25 points on their way to snapping a four-game losing streak.
Merrill scored 15 of his points in the second half and finished eight of 10 from the field, including 5-7 from three. McEwen hit 8-18 field goals and added seven rebounds and three assists. Quinn Taylor chipped in with 13 points and eight rebounds. The Aggies hit 50 percent from the field, including a 53.3 clip in the second half. Utah State out-rebounded Air Force, 37-33, and had just 11 turnovers.
Air Force hit just 32.7 percent from the field, including a 3-22 effort from three. The Falcons missed their first 12 threes. Ryan Swan was the lone Falcon in double figures with a team-high 10 points. Lavelle Scottie added nine points and Caleb Morris chipped in with career bests of seven points, two threes and four rebounds.
The loss snapped a two-game winning streak for the Falcons with both wins coming on the road. Air Force falls to 8-11 overall and 2-5 in Mountain West play. Utah State improves to 11-11 and 4-5.
