It was a total team effort Tuesday night in the men’s college basketball season opener for the Aggies.
Utah State had balanced scoring — minus Sam Merrill’s career-high 37 points — rebounding and assists from the 12 players that saw action against Montana State. It translated into a 101-71 victory to begin the 2018-19 campaign.
“It is just fun, man; we really feel like we are a team and have balance,” said Aggie guard Diego Brito, who had eight rebounds, six points, four assists and two steals. “We score 101 points and only two guys have double digits. That’s huge. We just played as a team and we feel like a team.”
Joining Merrill in double-figure scoring was Dwayne Brown Jr. with 15 points.
The Aggies have 12 players that are available and each saw at least nine minutes of action against the Bobcats. Merrill led the team with 33 minutes, while Brito had the second most with 24.
“Everyone understands this is a team thing,” Merrill said. “Everyone brings something unique to the table and that’s why they are playing. I thought everyone did a good job, especially the bench. We had 44 points off the bench. That’s a good team effort. That’s about as good of a team win as you can get.”
USU’s bench did outscore MSU’s subs, 44-24.
Smith praised his four veteran players that saw time as starters last year in Merrill, Brown, Quinn Taylor and Brito. He compared Brito to former NBA All-Star Scottie Pippen.
“Obviously, Diego is not Scottie Pippen, but what I mean is back in the day Scottie Pippen had 15 to 17 points, eight assists, seven rebounds,” Smith said. “That’s the kind of player Diego can be.”
Then there was Merrill. The junior poured in 21 of his 37 points in the first half. He made 12 of 18 shots from the field, including 5 of 7 from 3-point range. He was perfect from the foul line, hitting all eight of his attempts.
“Sam is just so efficient,” Smith said. “You know what you are going to get out of him. Some nights you get wide-open looks and they don’t go in. I thought it was big early when we ran a couple of sets for him and he hit them both. I think it gave our team some confidence during that stretch when we were struggling. We have an unselfish team and Sam really knows how to play, and our team knows how to look for him. He doesn’t give you a steady dose of one thing, because he knows how to play and find gaps in the defense.”
While Merrill was having a night to remember, many of his teammates were getting their feet wet at the Division I level. All 12 Aggies scored at least two points, while 11 athletes grabbed at least one rebound as USU dominated the glass, 51-25. Eight different Aggies had at least one assist.
“It was a very impressive start,” Brito said. “We were playing a team that puts up a lot of points. They have two guys that can really go off. We needed to make sure to keep them under control. I think guys really followed the game plan. We just did a lot of things right. I’m not going to say everything, but a lot of things.”
Brito agreed there are plenty of areas that the Aggies can improve on. One of those is committing less fouls. USU was whistled for 29 fouls as 11 of the 12 Aggies had at least one and a trio of USU players finished with four.
“We did have some dumb fouls, just young and inexperienced, just senseless,” Smith said. “We definitely need to clean that up. ... Our teams traditionally don’t foul and know how to get fouled. That drives you nuts when you foul for senseless reasons.
“At the end of the day, it’s tough to win on the road in college basketball. And it’s really tough to win in that fashion (fouling). When a team is as young and inexperienced as we are, you just don’t know. It’s like going to a buffet. You see all the food and kind of think you know what you are going to get out of this, but you don’t always know until you taste it.”
Montana State also had some issues in the foul department. The Bobcats had 26 for the game and had starter foul out.
“We were 16 for 17 in the first half, and that really kept us in there for a stretch,” Smith said. “This was a choppy game and hard to get a feel. Sometimes teams can get frustrated by that. We always say ‘NBA, next best action.’ You can’t worry about those things. All you can do is control the controllables.”
Which the Aggies did. After opening on the road, the Aggies return to the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum for three home games.
“It’s always easier to play at home,” Merrill said. “But we’ve got a tough team (coming in). I don’t know a ton about Hartford, but I know they are good. We have a tough test coming up Friday and need to find a way to prepare in a quick turnaround.”
USU plays its first six games in a span of 16 days.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
We welcome comments, however there are some guidelines:
Keep it Clean: Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexual language. Don't Threaten: Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful: Don't lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice: No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading. Be Proactive: Report abusive posts and don’t engage with trolls. Share with Us: Tell us your personal accounts and the history behind articles.