Merrill lifts Utah St. over Fresno St. 85-60 in MWC tourney

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Sam Merrill had 22 points as Utah State easily beat Fresno State 85-60 in the Mountain West Conference Tournament semifinals on Friday night. Diogo Brito added 20 points for the Aggies. Brito also had seven rebounds for the Aggies.

Abel Porter had 11 points for Utah State (27-6). Neemias Queta added 10 points, 13 rebounds and four assists.

Nate Grimes scored a career-high 21 points and had three blocks for the Bulldogs (23-9). Braxton Huggins added 11 points. Noah Blackwell had 10 points.

Deshon Taylor, whose 18 points per game heading into the matchup ranked second on the Bulldogs, scored only 6 points on 2-of-13 shooting.