Fresno St. Bulldogs vs Utah St. Aggies Match Player Stats On Dec 07, 2019

Sam Merrill scored 24 points, Justin Bean recorded a double-double, and No. 25-ranked Utah State outlasted Fresno State in overtime, 77-70, Saturday in Logan, Utah.

Utah State (9-1, 2-0 Mountain West Conference) trailed for much of the second half, but Merrill scored six points in the final 4:41, and assisted Diogo Brito on a critical 3-pointer with a little over a minute remaining in regulation -- just the second the Aggies made in the first 40 minutes.

That surge gave Utah State a four-point lead , 59-55, in it its Mountain West home opener.

But Fresno State (2-6, 0-2), which went to overtime in its league opener Wednesday against UNLV, got two 3-pointers from New Williams in the final 1:28. The second beat the buzzer to force overtime.

In the extra frame, Bean scored a pivotal put-back, part of his 14 points and 13 rebounds. His bucket and 3-pointers from both Merrill and Abel Porter pushed Utah State ahead for good.

Utah State shot a miserable 21.1 percent from behind the 3-point line, although that bested Fresno State's 20.6 percent. The Aggies shot a collective 35 percent from the field but were outstanding at the free-throw line.

They went 31-of-34 at the foul line, including 6-of-7 from All-Mountain West center Neemias Queta. Queta logged 10 minutes in his return from an offseason knee injury and scored all of his points at the stripe.

Brioto scored 10 points for Utah State. Porter added 13. Bean added five steals to his double-double stat line, including one with 18 seconds left in regulation that seemingly gave the Aggies the win.

Fresno State played the final 1:39 of overtime without Nate Grimes, who fouled out after scoring 22 points. Grimes and Williams led the way for the Bulldogs, with Williams pouring in a game-high 26 points. Grimes grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double.

--Field Level Media