Sam Merrill’s Best Moments From Mountain West Conference Tournament
Mar 7, 2020, 7:13 PM | Updated: 7:31 pm
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Utah State senior guard Sam Merrill was the star of the 2020 Mountain West Conference Tournament and he capped it off with a fantastic performance in the Championship game against No. 5 San Diego State.
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Merrill was named the tournament MVP for the second straight year, becoming the first player in school history to win back-to-back conference tournament MVP awards.
The Aggies needed Merrill in all three wins but the Bountiful, Utah native came up big in Las Vegas.
Here are the best moments from Sam Merrill in the Mountain West Tournament.
MWC Title Win Over San Diego State
Sam Merrill drilled a contested three-pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining that eventually gave the Aggies a 59-56 win over No. 5 San Diego State, sending them to the NCAA Tournament. It’s the second consecutive season that the Aggies have won the Mountain West Conference Tournament Championship.
With less than 20 seconds on the clock, Merrill received the ball at half court. He dribbled the ball down until the game clock was down to four seconds when Merrill fired a contested three over San Diego State guard K.J. Feagin and nailed it with 2.6 second left.
Merrill finished with 27 points on 6-15 shooting from the three-point line.
SAM. MONEY. MERRILLLLLLLLL!!!@smerrill05#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/6brMPAWbEY
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 8, 2020
Victory Over Wyoming In Semifinals
Midway through the second half against Wyoming in the semifinals, Merrill made a beautiful step-back three-pointer to put the Aggies up by five over the Cowboys.
Merrill finished the contest with a game-high 27 points on 9-15 field goals. He shot 3-6 from three-point range and went a perfect 6-6 from the charity stripe.
After cutting the lead to 2, Merrill answers with a step back 3 and Queta follows it up with a big block. pic.twitter.com/5UiGbrctrq
— Matthew L Glade (@matthewLksl) March 7, 2020
Big Shots Lift Aggies Over New Mexico In Quarterfinals
The game was tied at 65 with over two minutes remaining in the game against New Mexico in their tournament opener when Merrill dribbled the ball down the court and stopped at the top of the arc and drilled a contested three-pointer to put Utah State up by three.
Merrill finished the game with 29 points on 10-15 shooting including 2-5 from three. He scored 18 of his points during the second half. Merrill added 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and a steal in the win.
I AM THE DANGER!#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/5109Q0ZY6P
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 6, 2020
Utah State improved their record to 26-8 overall. They will make their second straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010-11. Selection Sunday will be on March 15 at 4 p.m. on CBS.
