San Diego State’s strong finishing kick ousts Utah State

With its NCAA Tournament hopes on the line, San Diego State did what’s expected of championship teams.

Trailing by two points, the top-seeded Aztecs closed with a strong run to defeat Utah State 71-65 in Thursday’s quarterfinals of the Mountain West basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.

San Diego State outscored the Aggies 12-4 in the final 1:32. Malik Pope tied the game at 61, and Trey Kell gave the Aztecs the lead for good at 63-61 with 48 seconds left.

The Aztecs then made 8 of 10 free throws in the final 10 seconds — two fouls were ruled intentional — to seal the victory.

“We were playing a team tonight that in the last few games was playing as well as anyone in the league,” San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. “We got what we thought we were going to get, a good, tough fistfight, and we found ways to prevail.

“We’ve had games like this in our 18-game (conference) schedule, and it prepares you.”

San Diego State (24-8) will play fifth-seeded UNR (18-12) at 6 p.m. today in a semifinal game. The Aztecs probably need to win the conference tournament to receive a trip to the NCAA Tournament because the Mountain West is expected to be a one-bid league.

Kell led the Aztecs with 17 points, and Pope scored 15.

No. 9 Utah State (16-15) was led by Lew Evans’ 15 points and Jalen Moore’s 14.

“Tough loss to end our year,” Aggies coach Tim Duryea said.

■ UNR 64, New Mexico 62 — Cameron Oliver blocked the potential winning shot, and teammate Lindsey Drew saved the ball from going out of bounds with half a second left as the Wolf Pack eliminated the Lobos.

Oliver finished with 26 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots for UNR. Tyron Criswell added 20 points, and Elijah Foster totaled 11 rebounds.

Elijah Brown led fourth-seeded New Mexico (17-14) with 26 points.

The victory was UNR’s first ever in the Mountain West tournament. The Wolf Pack had lost their three previous games. They also are the first No. 5 seed to make the semifinals in five years.

The game was tight throughout, and UNR clung to a 63-62 lead in the final seconds. New Mexico’s Cullen Neal had what seemed to be an open look at a 3-pointer from the right corner when Oliver blocked the shot.

Then, after Drew’s save, Eric Cooper Jr. was fouled and made one free throw for the final margin.

“I saw on the other side we had Elijah Brown trapped,” Oliver said. “I read the swing of the ball. I saw it on the corner, and I was right there on time.

“I couldn’t believe I did it. It was a crazy moment. We came so far, we worked so hard for this, and Lindsey actually saved the ball for us, and that was a big possession.”

■ Colorado State 88, Boise State 81 — Antwan Scott, John Gillon and Joe De Ciman combined for 61 points to lead the sixth-seeded Rams.

Scott scored 23 points, Gillon 20 and De Ciman 18 for Colorado State (18-15). The Rams will play No. 2 Fresno State (23-9) at 8:30 p.m. today.

Nick Duncan led No. 3 Boise State (20-12) with 23 points, and James Webb III scored 15.

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