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March 29, 2024

TOURNAMENT BLOG:

Live from the MWC Tourney: Aztecs earn trip to semis with 64-50 dusting of Utah

San Diego State now awaits UNLV-Air Force winner

MWC Tournament - New Mexico vs. CSU

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

New Mexico guard Phillip McDonald claps and eyes the clock as time runs out in their Mountain West Conference Championship game against Colorado State Thursday, March 10, 2011 at the Thomas & Mack Center. New Mexico won 67-61 and will face BYU in a Friday quarterfinal game.

Updated Thursday, March 10, 2011 | 8:18 p.m.

MWC Tournament - UNLV vs. Air Force

UNLV guard Justin Hawkins celebrates a play against Air Force during their Mountain West Conference Championship game Thursday, March 10, 2011 at the Thomas & Mack Center. UNLV won the game 69-53. Launch slideshow »

MWC Tournament - SDSU vs. Utah

Utah guard Josh Watkins gets slapped in the face while being defended by San Diego State's Chase Tapley (L) and Tim Shelton during their Mountain West Conference Championship game Thursday, March 10, 2011 at the Thomas & Mack Center. San Diego State won 64-50. Launch slideshow »

MWC Tournament - New Mexico vs. CSU

New Mexico guard Jamal Fenton looks to pass the ball before hitting the floor during their Mountain West Conference Championship game against Colorado State Thursday, March 10, 2011 at the Thomas & Mack Center. New Mexico won 67-61 and will face BYU in a Friday quarterfinal game. Launch slideshow »

MWC Tournament - BYU vs. TCU

The BYU bench celebrates a successful three-point shot late in their Mountain West Conference Championship game against TCU Thursday, March 10, 2011 at the Thomas & Mack Center. BYU won the game 64-58. Launch slideshow »

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The Sun will keep you posted at the half and end of each game during today's quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center, or get updates on Twitter.

Final, San Diego State defeats Utah, 64-50

The second half was far from pretty, but San Diego State was in control the whole way in a 64-50 victory over Utah in the day's third quarterfinal.

The Aztecs now await the UNLV-Air Force winner in hopes of remaking last year's dream Friday night semifinal round.

Malcolm Thomas and Kawhi Leonard each had double-doubles for the Aztecs, combining for 26 points and 22 rebounds. Leonard, however, was limited to 25 minutes, sitting much of the second half with a lower back issue. His status for tomorrow is unclear.

SDSU shot just 40 percent from the floor for the game, but it didn't matter much. They out-rebounded the Utes 42-30, and only Josh Watkins and Will Clyburn really showed up for Utah on the offensive end.

The interesting fall-out to watch is to see if it was the last coach Jim Boylen coaches at Utah as the program gets set to move to the Pac-12 next season.

Halftime, San Diego State leads Utah 30-15

It was close for a little while, but Utah is on the edge in what could possibly be Jim Boylen's final game with the Utes.

A late run gave San Diego State a 30-15 halftime edge on Utah. And the Aztecs didn't even play that well.

SDSU was 13-of-33 from the floor, but out-rebounded Utah 21-17, with Kawhi Leonard grabbing eight of them on top of his game-high seven points.

The Utes look just as flat as they did last Saturday in a 20-point home drubbing at the hands of UNLV. They're 7-of-23 from the floor, 0-for-6 from three, and have three assists across from 11 turnovers.

This second half could be a long one.

Final, New Mexico defeats BYU, 67-61

New Mexico was labeled by many as a dark horse candidate to win the Mountain West Conference tournament coming into the weekend, and the Lobos still are after defeating Colorado State, 67-61, in the day's second semifinal.

The big men for New Mexico have to be BYU's biggest concern when the two meet tomorrow night at 6 p.m. in the semifinals. The Cougars' interior is depleted, and the Lobos' duo of A.J. Hardeman and Drew Gordon combined today for 23 points and 22 rebounds.

The Lobos got another gutsy effort from Dairese Gary (9 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds), while freshman Kendall Williams scored 16 points.

Don't get ahead of yourself in considering New Mexico an NCAA tournament at-large candidate just yet. They have 21 wins and two against BYU, but the bad losses from early on and the 8-8 league record are still likely too much for the selection committee to ignore.

However, if the Lobos sweep three from BYU, they'll have a monster head of steam in Saturday's title game.

The atmosphere tomorrow night should be nuts, as both UNM and BYU traveled tons of fans to the Mack.

The night session tips at 6 p.m. with San Diego State and Utah squaring off, followed by the UNLV-Air Force nightcap at approximately 8:30.

Halftime, New Mexico leads Colorado State, 36-29

Andy Ogide and Dorian Green are carrying the offensive load so far for Colorado State, while New Mexico is using a more balanced attack. In turn, the Lobos lead the Rams at the half, 36-29, in the day's second semifinal.

Kendall Williams leads all New Mexico scorers with nine points, while Phillip McDonald has eight, including two 3-pointers. Dairese Gary is as tough as always, while the interior duo of A.J. Hardeman and Drew Gordon is giving CSU fits.

The Lobos' motivation here is obvious, as a potential third meeting with BYU looms with a win. New Mexico is the only team in the league to beat the Cougars this season, and it did so twice.

The Rams simply look like a team, outside of a couple of guys, that's run out of gas. They did lose four of their last five regular season games, and definitely look different than they did 6 weeks ago.

Final, BYU defeats TCU, 64-58

The rest of the Mountain West Conference tournament field might be licking its chops after that one.

Top-seeded BYU got by No. 9 TCU, 64-58, but it was far from pretty and even farther from easy.

Jimmer Fredette scored a game-high 24 points, but was just 7-of-21 from the floor and 4-of-11 from three. He had three rebounds, two assists and five turnovers.

A big x-factor for BYU in the win was Charles Abouo, who started at the four-spot in place of the suspended Brandon Davies. He finished with 14 points and eight rebounds in 32 minutes, and every bit of that effort was needed, as BYU's bench was completely ineffective. Four Cougars reserves combined for two points and four rebounds — all from Logan Magnusson — in 21 minutes.

That's a big red flag for a team that continues to look weakened by the loss of Davies. The Cougars' best post presence was again seated at the end of the bench in a shirt and tie.

For the Frogs, Hank Thorns and Greg Hill scored 15 points apiece, but BYU rendered Thorns ineffective 9in the second half. He had 13 of those points in the first half, and teammates fumbled transition passes several times in the second stanza that could have turned into easy buckets. Still, a Hill 3-pointer in the closing seconds gave TCU a shot late.

The most telling sign of how frustrating a performance it was for BYU was Fredette's lack of emotion afterwards. He looked far more frustrated than he was satisfied.

Either way, the top seed advances, and will get the winner of New Mexico-Colorado State, who tip off in just a few minutes. A big note on this one is that sharp-shooting CSU guard Adam Nigon is out with a foot injury sustained yesterday in practice. He's been a Lobo killer in the past.

Halftime, TCU leads BYU 34-33

Yep, you read that right.

BYU continues to look one-dimensional and vulnerable without suspended all-MWC forward Brandon Davies, who is seated at the end of the bench.

The Cougars relied on a bunch of deep three looks in the first half, going jet 4-of-13, while TCU is 11-of-22 from the floor and 7-of-12 from outside. Las Vegas native Hank Thorns played a phenomenal half, scoring a team-high 13 points to go with three assists and three rebounds. This came despite him picking up three fouls.

Jimmer Fredette has 15 points for BYU, but only three of those came in the final 12 minutes, and he's beyond frustrated right now.

Due to foul trouble on TCU's end and BYU's penchant for big second halves, I'm not expecting the 9-seed Horned Frogs to pull off this upset, but they're making the Cougars work, which probably makes the rest of the league pretty happy.

As for the atmosphere, it's very pro-BYU in here. It's a zoo outside of the Mack right now, and about 40 percent of the seats in here are filled with Cougar blue.

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