Aggies use defense and ball control to throttle Aztecs efforts. San Diego State awaits selection committee decision on the NCAA tournament.
Utah State paced by senior MJ Collins Jr. with 20 points.
Number one seed Utah State claimed both the regular season title and the conference title by defeating number two San Diego State 73-62 in Las Vegas on Saturday night in front of 6,500 fans. The Aggies were paced by MJ Collins, Jr. who scored 20 points on 8-15 shooting to go with his 3 rebounds and 3 steals. Conference MVP Mason Falslev added 16 more with 4 rebounds and 6 assists. The Aztecs were paced once again by Reese Dixon-Waters who also scored 20 points on 8-12 shooting. BJ Davis added 14 points and Magoon Gwath added 12 to complement his 8 rebounds. Both teams struggled to gain offense efficiency as both teams shot below 50% for the game. The most telling stat were the lack of turnovers on the Aggies part. They only turned the ball over six times which resulted in only four Aztec points. The Aggies, scored 17 points off of 14 Aztec turnovers, certainly one of the key factors in a hard fought and fairly even game. Utah State led for over 75% of the game, exerting ball control dominance in winning their 28th game of the season. They end regular season play with a 28-6 mark and will have an automatic invite to the NCAA tournament. They await final seedings, but experts indicate they should wind up as an 8 or 9 seed. The Aztecs drop to 22-11 on the season and await their fate. They are expected to be the first team out and any upset in the conference finals tonight or tomorrow will keep San Diego State out of the big dance. Both teams are exiting the Mountain West after this season and will take their basketball pedigrees to the Pac-12 where they will begin a new rivalry with perennial national power Gonzaga.
The Aztecs took a 35-34 lead into the locker room after a fast-paced first half. Miles Byrd opened the scoring after a steal. Collins Jr. evened the game with a jumper. Dixon-Waters answered with a step back jumper, which was followed by a three by Adlan Elamin and a 1 point Aggie lead. They would lead most of the first half, trading punches. The Aztecs managed an 8-3 run as the first half was drawing to a close and looked like they had the momentum. Utah State started the second half fast scoring seven straight points to take a lead they would maintain most of the second half. Every Aztec attack was countered by the Aggies. The Aztecs missed the inside help from Miles Heide, who was injured last night against New Mexico and did not play. The Aztecs will surely have a few games left to play, most likely in the NIT or another post season tournament. This year had some tremendous play but a few lost opportunities that didn’t go the Aztecs way, seemed to doom them down the stretch.