Houston • Sam Merrill had 21 points and Justin Bean made the game-winning bucket at the end of overtime as Utah State defeated South Florida 76-74 in overtime at the Battleground 2K19 on Wednesday night.
Utah State had possession after a timeout with 34 seconds left in overtime and the score tied at 74. The Aggies worked the clock to about 5 seconds and Abel Porter missed a 3-pointer. Bean grabbed the offensive rebound, stepped to the right side of the basket and beat the buzzer with a short bank shot.
A 3-pointer from David Collins gave USF a 64-62 lead with 1:42 remaining in the second half and he later added two free throws for a four-point lead. Utah State’s Neemias Queta and Bean both scored in the paint to send the game to overtime.
Queta had 18 points and Bean added 12 points for Utah State (11-2). Alphonso Anderson also had 12 points for the Aggies.
Laquincy Rideau had 15 points for the Bulls (6-5). Collins added 15 points and Xavier Castaneda scored 12.
Both teams play in the Orange Bowl Basketball Classic in Sunrise, Florida, on Saturday. Utah State takes on Florida and South Florida faces Florida State.
Utah Valley 69, Wyoming 67 • In Laramie, Wyo., Isaiah White came off the bench to score 19 points, including a layup with seven seconds left to lift Utah Valley to a 69-67 win over Wyoming on Wednesday night.
Hunter Maldonado hit a jumper with :54 left to put the Cowboys up by two, 67-65. Brandon Averette drew a foul from Jake Hendricks with :36 to play and his two free throws tied the game. Jamison Overton had a steal with 10 seconds left and fed White for the game-winning basket.
White shot 9 for 10 from the foul line and added nine rebounds.
Averette had 18 points for Utah Valley (5-8), which ended its five-game losing streak. TJ Washington added 13 points.
Maldonado had 23 points and six rebounds for the Cowboys (3-9), whose losing streak reached six games. Hunter Thompson added 17 points and seven rebounds. Brandon Porter had 12 points.
Utah Valley matches up against Long Beach State on the road on Saturday. Wyoming takes on Denver on the road on Saturday.
