No. 21 Aztecs, New Mexico share crown
FORT WORTH, Texas — Jamaal Franklin was leaning into a defender, trying to draw a foul while shooting a 3-pointer on a broken play for No. 21 San Diego State late in regulation.
The shot was short and there wasn’t a whistle, not until Tim Shelton grabbed the rebound and scored on a putback while being fouled. He made the tying free throw for the Aztecs, who after blowing an 18-point lead, pulled out a 98-92 overtime victory at Texas Christian on Saturday for a share of the Mountain West Conference regular-season title.
San Diego State, the two-time defending conference tournament champion, will be the No. 1 seed when the tournament starts Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Aztecs (24-6, 10-4 MWC) own the tiebreaker over New Mexico by virtue of their season sweep of TCU.
"It was a fitting climax for the end of his regular-season career that Tim Shelton would get that three-point play," San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said.
The Aztecs went ahead to stay when Franklin, who scored a career-high 35 points, converted a three-point play with 3:34 left in overtime for an 88-85 lead.
The Horned Frogs (17-13, 7-7) had won eight straight at home, the last two over Top 25 teams.
Valley High product Hank Thorns scored 25 points in his final home game for the Horned Frogs. J.R. Cadot had a career-high 24, including 14 in a 32-14 run in the second half when TCU tied the game at 77.
■ New Mexico 76, Boise State 61 — At Albuquerque, N.M., Drew Gordon scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in his final home game to help the Lobos overcome a second-half deficit and claim a share of the conference title.
Hugh Greenwood added 15 points for New Mexico (24-6, 10-4), and Derrick Marks scored 17 to lead Boise State (13-16, 3-11).
Boise State led 52-48 with 8:15 left after Marks banked a shot in. But the Lobos countered with a 10-2 run to regain control.
■ Colorado State 75, Air Force 65 — At Air Force Academy, Colo., Wes Eikmeier scored 23 points, and the Rams withstood a 3-point barrage from the Falcons.
Air Force hit 13 3-pointers but could not stop the Rams (19-10, 8-6), who won for the fourth time in five games.
Mike Lyons scored 18 points and Mike Fitzgerald 16 to lead the Falcons (13-15, 3-11).