This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
San Jose, Calif. • Freshman guard Koby McEwen scored 23 points shooting 10 for 11 from the foul line and Sam Merrill, another freshman guard, finished with 22 on 9-for-12 shooting and Utah State held off San Jose State for an 81-75 win on Wednesday night.
McEwen buried a 3 to extend the Utah State's lead to 59-44 before San Jose State went on a 17-8 run to get within 67-61 on Isaac Thornton's 3 with 5:19 to go.
The Spartans narrowed the deficit 75-70 before McEwen made all four of his free throws and Merrill added a pair in the final 39 seconds.
McEwen and Merrill each scored 14 points for the Aggies before halftime. Jalen Moore finished with 15 points and added six rebounds, while Norbert Janicek scored 14 points for Utah State (12-15, 6-10 Mountain West). The Aggies are 12-5 this season when scoring more than 70 points in a game.
Utah State led the entire game, the third time this season it has done that and the first time in conference play.
Ryan Welage led San Jose State (14-12, 7-8) with 20 points, Jaycee Hillsman had 13, Brandon Clarke had 12 points and 10 rebounds and Isaiah Nichols had 11 points.
Utah State will play host to Air Force on Saturday in the regular-season home finale at 7 p.m. The regular season finishes on March 11 at UNLV before the Mountain West Conference tournament begins in Las Vegas. —
Utah State 81, San Jose St. 75
UTAH ST. (12-15)
Dargenton 0-1 0-0 0, Janicek 7-11 0-0 14, Moore 6-12 3-3 15, Merrill 9-12 2-2 22, McEwen 5-12 10-11 23, Taylor 1-1 2-2 5, Barnaba 0-1 0-0 0, Brito 0-0 0-0 0, Pearre 0-0 0-0 0, Rector 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 28-51 19-20 81.
SAN JOSE ST. (14-12)
Clarke 6-10 0-0 12, Welage 8-15 2-2 20, Brown 2-8 1-2 7, Thornton 1-2 0-0 3, Hillsman 4-9 2-2 13, Mitchell 0-4 0-0 0, Schwartz 2-4 0-0 6, Nichols 4-7 2-4 11, James 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 28-61 7-10 75.
Halftime—Utah St. 43-35. 3-Point Goals—Utah St. 6-17 (McEwen 3-6, Merrill 2-5, Taylor 1-1, Barnaba 0-1, Moore 0-4), San Jose St. 12-21 (Hillsman 3-6, Welage 2-3, Schwartz 2-4, Brown 2-5, Thornton 1-1, Nichols 1-1, James 1-1). Fouled Out—Taylor. Rebounds—Utah St. 28 (Moore, Merrill 6), San Jose St. 25 (Clarke 10). Assists—Utah St. 17 (Merrill, McEwen 5), San Jose St. 21 (Clarke, Thornton 5). Total Fouls—Utah St. 14, San Jose St. 16.