McEwen puts in 5 3s, leads Utah State in MWC tourney opener (Mar 08, 2017)
LAS VEGAS (AP) Koby McEwen made five 3-pointers without a miss in scoring 27 points and eighth-seeded Utah State beat No. 9 seed San Jose State 90-64 on Wednesday in the first round of the Mountain West Tournament.
Jalen Moore scored 19 points and Quinn Taylor and Sam Merrill 11 each with Merrill adding eight assists for the Aggies (14-16), who will take on top-seeded Nevada in Thursday's quarterfinals.
Ryan Welage scored 14 points and Isaac Thornton 10 for the Spartans (14-16), who have been knocked out in the first round in all three trips to the tournament since joining the MWC in 2013-14. Brandon Clark grabbed 13 rebounds.
The Aggies broke the game open with a five-minute, 18-0 run that began with a 3-pointer by Julion Pearre and ended with a trey by McEwen for a 76-51 lead with 5:29 to go.
Utah State, which shot 56 percent and was 10 of 17 from the arc, has beaten San Jose State 20 straight times.