San Diego State, Fresno State to meet for Mountain West title

And when he sat on the bench, Kell kept a towel on his head, feeling the effects of the flu.

But on the basketball court in the second half, he played like nothing bothered him. Kell scored 13 of his team-high 15 points to lead the Aztecs to a 67-55 victory over UNR on Friday in the semifinals of the Mountain West tournament.

“It started a little bit before we left,” Kell said of his illness. “I kind of felt it, not feeling so well, and then it was kind of lingering. I’m slowly getting better. I’m not to where I want to be. It’s not an excuse. We still have a job to do, and we’re almost there.”

Almost there is the conference tournament championship and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. No. 1 seed San Diego State (25-8) plays for the title at 3 p.m. today at the Thomas & Mack Center against No. 2 Fresno State, which defeated No. 6 Colorado State 64-56 in the other semifinal.

The Aztecs could receive an at-large NCAA bid should they lose, but it would be far from a guarantee.

“I think we do have a body of work that is substantial,” Aztecs coach Steve Fisher said. “I’m sure we’re not the Lone Ranger along that line. There are a lot of schools thinking the same thing. So we want the guaranteed route, and that’s by winning your conference tournament.

“We don’t want to leave it in someone else’s hands.”

Fifth-seeded UNR (19-13) also hopes to play in the postseason, be it the College Basketball Invitational, CollegeInsider.com Tournament or Vegas 16.

“It would be a great thing for our young guys to be able to play in the postseason,” Wolf Pack coach Eric Musselman said. “We want to send our guys that are done playing college basketball out the right way.”

UNR threatened to put itself in position to play for the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, going on a 12-2 run to tie the game at 38 with 11:22 left.

But the Aztecs never allowed UNR to take the lead and clamped down defensively in allowing only two Wolf Pack baskets in the final seven minutes.

“The thought process that (defensive coordinator) Justin Hutson and our staff talked to the team about was build a wall,” Fisher said. “Don’t let them attack you off the bounce. Keep them in front of you. Limit them to one shot at the basket. And we did a pretty good job of that.”

In addition to Kell, San Diego State was led by Findlay Prep product Winston Shepard’s 13 points and by Dakarai Allen and Zylan Cheatham, who each scored 11.

Cameron Oliver totaled 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolf Pack, and Tyron Criswell scored 14. Marqueze Coleman, who had averaged 16.4 points, played only two minutes in the second half and 11 overall because of an injured left ankle that helped limit him to two points.

San Diego State forced 20 turnovers and outscored UNR 24-5 on points off turnovers.

In the other semifinal, Marvelle Harris scored 19 points to lead second-seeded Fresno State (24-9) past No. 6 Colorado State (18-16). Karachi Edo added 14 points for the Bulldogs, and Julien Lewis scored 12.

This is Fresno State’s first appearance in the Mountain West tournament title game.

“We didn’t play our best basketball, but we know we’re capable of playing better,” Harris said. “(Today) in order to win the game, we are going to have to play our best basketball. They’re a team who plays great defense.”

The Bulldogs will try to win just their second conference tournament championship. Their only other one was the Pacific Coast Athletic Association title in 1984, though the Bulldogs won the 2000 Western Athletic Conference championship only to have it later vacated by the NCAA for using ineligible players.

More important, Fresno State hopes to make its first NCAA Tournament trip since 2001. Should the Bulldogs lose, they will hope to be invited to another postseason tournament. Their last such appearance occurred two years ago when they made the championship series of the College Basketball Invitational.

“It’s pretty special to put the program on the map like this,” Lewis said. “We’ve got a big challenge (today). We’ll come prepared.”

John Gillon led Colorado State with 13 points. The Rams were held to 22.2 percent shooting.

■ UNLV STAYING HOME — The Rebels decided they would not accept a postseason bid should one be extended.

UNLV’s roster had been decimated by injuries and other issues, limiting the Rebels to six available players. They ended their season 18-15.

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65