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Size, athleticism and IQ each fall somewhere below a fiercely-competitive nature on the list of Utah State freshman Sam Merrill's most useful attributes on the court.

The need to keep anyone from besting him is why Merrill and his friend and former Bountiful High teammate Zac Seljaas, who plays for BYU and is currently on an LDS Church mission, wouldn't speak to each other after games of one-on-one. Someone had to lose, and it never sat well.

Whatever it is that makes the seemingly mild-mannered Merrill's blood boil at the thought of anyone besting him has also made him a perfect fit for the job of trying to shut down the top perimeter scorers in the Mountain West Conference. He'll have his hands full when the Aggies (11-13, 5-8 MWC) host San Diego State University (14-10, 6-6) at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

"We put a lot on Sam," Aggies head coach Tim Duryea said. "That's a lot to put on a freshman. We want him to, obviously, score the ball on the other end, be a good 3-point shooter, and he's a really good passer. So he's go all that on his plate, and we've kind of thrown the stopper role on him as well on the defensive end."

Merrill, a 6-foot-4 guard who moved into the starting lineup in early January, has refused to let his defensive assignments take away from his offense. Merrill has averaged 10.8 points, 3.5 assists and shot 46.3 percent from 3-point range during conference play.

Merrill's compulsion to win is a family trait. Merrill and his older sister Molli, a goalkeeper for the Utah State women's soccer team from 2008-11, once got into an argument over — get this — who is more competitive.

Once after a basketball tournament, Merrill's mother remarked that she thought he wanted to win even more than Molli. That set off a back and forth with the siblings getting increasingly angry as each grew more determined to "prove" they were the most competitive.

Looking back, Merrill acknowledges there was no way to definitively prove his case. Of course, that didn't enter his mind during the argument.

"Sam is a mentally tough guy, and I think he actually enjoys having that challenge put to him where he can lock in on a guy and try to take him out," Duryea said. "We kind of let him do that defensively. We let him get outside our defensive system — so to speak — and let him really try to take a guy away. He seems to kind of thrive in that role."

Merrill wasn't asked to guard the opposing team's top offensive player on his high school team, but he was given that task on the Exum Elite Utah Prospects AAU team. On the summer circuit, he guarded high-caliber players such as Washington Wizards small forward Kelly Oubre, University of Oregon guards Tyler Dorsey and Casey Benson as well as Arizona State guard Tra Holder.

"I didn't always have success, but I think it helped me develop that mentality that I can compete with these guys," Merrill said. "If I do what I'm supposed to and I'm where I'm supposed to be at the right time, I can guard them."

Merrill likely will start Wednesday night's game defending SDSU's 6-foot-4 junior guard Trey Kell. Kell, who was voted an All-Mountain West first-team selection by the conference's coaches last season, along with sophomore guard Jeremy Hemsley. In the first meeting this season between the teams in San Diego, Kell and Hemsley combined to score 26 points on 10 of 21 shooting as SDSU won by 19 points.

"Their offense basically runs through their point guard and their shooting guard, Hemsley and Kell," Merrill said. "Koby [McEwen] and I have to take that challenge, obviously, make their catches tough, try to limit as many opportunities as they have. When they come off those ball screens, make sure we get through and don't give them any easy looks."

Twitter: @LWorthySports —

San Diego State at Utah State

P At Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, Logan

Tipff • 8 p.m. Wednesday.

TV • CBSSN

Radio • 610 AM, 102.1 FM

Records • San Diego State (14-10, 6-6), Utah State (11-13, 5-8)

Series • San Diego State leads 8-3.

Last meeting • San Diego State won 74-55 on Jan. 14.

About the Aggies • They have won their past three home games, including Saturday's 81-74 victory against Wyoming in which senior wing Jalen Moore became the 10th player in program history with more than 1,500 points and 600 rebounds. … In their past three home games, Quinn Taylor (75 percent), Norbert Janicek (56.3 percent), Koby McEwen (55.2 percent) and Sam Merrill (52.6 percent) have each shot better than 50 percent from the field. The Aggies have shot 49.3 percent as a team during that stretch. … Redshirt sophomore Alexis Dargenton has averaged 5.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game this season, but his average the past five games have increased to 6.8 points and 6.8 rebounds.

About the Aztecs • Junior guard Trey Kell surpassed the 1,000-point plateau in Sunday's 70-56 win over Nevada, who entered that game in first place in the Mountain West. … Junior forward Malik Pope missed nine game this season with a knee injury, but he has started the last five and is coming off of his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 rebounds against Nevada. … San Diego State has won each of the eight meetings since USU joined the Mountain West.