San Diego State rallies to defeat Air Force in MW tournament

San Diego State trailed for the fourth straight game and rallied to win for the third time.

The top-seeded and fifth-ranked Aztecs defeated No. 9 Air Force 73-60 in a Mountain West men’s tournament quarterfinal Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

San Diego State (29-1) trailed 37-33 at halftime and then outscored the Falcons 40-23 in the second half.

“They don’t get rattled, they don’t overreact,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said. “They don’t worry about the score in the first half. They just go make a few adjustments, go out and play with great confidence. They start earning their confidence because they win games, but once you start gaining that confidence, you don’t think you’re ever going to lose.

“But the good news is they don’t go out there and take anything for granted. They don’t play hero ball.”

Jordan Schakel led four Aztecs in double figures with 17 points. AJ Walker led Air Force (12-20) with 18 points.

The Aztecs play fifth-seeded Boise State (20-11) at 6 p.m. Friday in the semifinals.

“(The Aztecs are) very talented and a team that can be playing in the last weekend of March for it all,” Air Force coach Dave Pilipovich said.

Utah State 75, New Mexico 70 — Sam Merrill scored 29 points, and Diogo Brito made the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:08 left for the Aggies.

The second-seeded Aggies (24-8) kept alive their at-large NCAA Tournament hopes.

Jaquan Lyle led No. 7 New Mexico (19-14) with 20 points, and Corey Manigault scored 18. Lobos guard Vante Hendrix was sent home in the afternoon, but coach Paul Weir did not provide specifics.

“Really didn’t do anything serious at all,” Weir said. “Given the time, the intensity of today in the moment, I just felt like we were better off without him.”

Wyoming 74, UNR 71 — Kwane Marble II scored 24 points for the Cowboys, who became the first team seeded 11th to advance to the tournament semifinals.

Wyoming (9-23) plays No. 2 Utah State (24-8) at 8:30 p.m. Friday. Third-seeded UNR fell to 19-12.

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.