Utah State guard Sam Merrill (5) brings the ball down the court during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, in Logan, Utah. (AP Photo/Eli Lucero)

LOGAN, Utah – Utah State senior guard Sam Merrill has been named the Mountain West Player of the Week after leading the Aggies to a pair of road victories at Colorado State and Fresno State.

In a 75-72 victory at Colorado State, Merrill scored a game-high 32 points and added five assists, four rebounds and one steal, shooting 66.7 percent (12-of-18) from the floor, 60.0 percent (6-of-10) from behind the 3-point line and 100.0 percent (2-of-2) at the free throw line. With his performance, Merrill became just the fourth Aggie and the sixth player in Mountain West history to surpass 2,000 points in their career.

In a 71-59 victory at Fresno State, Merrill scored a game-high 24 points and added four rebounds, four assists and one steal, playing in the entire 40 minutes. He finished the game shooting 53.3 percent (8-of-15) from the floor, 50.0 percent (3-of-6) from behind the 3-point line and 83.3 percent (5-of-6) at the free throw line. With his performance, Merrill increased his career point total to 2,052, passing former Fresno State Bulldog Marvelle Harris for fifth on the career points list in MW history.

For the week, Merrill averaged 28.0 points, 4.5 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game, while shooting 60.6 percent (20-of-33) from the floor, 56.3 percent (9-of-16) from behind the 3-point line and 87.5 percent (7-of-8) at the free throw line.

Merrill and the Aggies return to the court on Wednesday, Feb. 19, hosting Wyoming at 7 p.m. Fans can watch the game on ESPN3, streaming online at www.espn.com/watch.



Source link