The Aggies Beat The Rams 100-96 In OT
Colorado State fought back from 12 down, to force overtime.
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Colorado State couldn’t finish against Utah State
The Utah State Aggies clinched a share of the regular season Mountain West title with a 100-96 overtime victory over the Colorado State Rams. The Rams had the lead late and couldn’t finish off the Aggies.
In the first half and part of the second half, Utah State looked like they were going to run away with this game. The Aggies shot 64% from the floor in the first half. And had a lead of eight points at one point during the first half. Utah State did nothing special, they just played their game of basketball.
But near the end of the second half, Colorado State made this a game. Down by 12 points, the Rams clawed their way back to lead by two with less than a minute to go. Sam Merrill was able to turn the tide by making a long range jumper to force OT, where the Aggies were able to come away with the win.
Merrill led the Aggies in scoring with 38 points. He came close to a triple double with eight boards and six assists. He also only made one three point shot in the game. Merrill was joined in double figures by Quinn Taylor (18 points and six rebounds), Neemias Queta (12 points and 8 rebounds), Justin Bean (10 points), and Diogo Brito (10 points).
Colorado State has improved as the season has gone on. They came close, in this game, to hurting Utah State’s chances for a share of the regular season Mountain West title. Even more impressive for the Rams, they played with a short bench, as Anthony Masinton-Bonner and Hyron Edwards were out with injury. What ended up hurting the Rams, was Nico Carvacho fouling out before overtime.
J.D. Paige stepped up for the Rams today. Paige scored a career high 29 points and had six assists to go along with it. He was joined in double figures by Kris Martin (20 points and 10 rebounds), Carvacho (19 points and 9 rebounds), Kendle Moore (12 points and five assists), and Adam Thistlewood (12 points).
The Aggies now wait for the rest of the Mountain West to play out, to see if they claim sole ownership of the regular season Mountain West championship. The Rams get ready for senior night, as they host UNLV on the last night of the season.
