#1 Utah State vs #5 San Diego State
The San Diego State Aztecs didn’t necessarily have the season they expected to back up their run to the National Championship game in last season’s NCAA tournament. But maybe what they’ve been looking for is that extra adrenaline bump, that juice from competing at a higher level in the tournament, one-and-done basketball games.
The Aztecs found themselves down 17 points and reeling with 7:25 to play in the first half and came roaring back to outscore their opponent 59-36 the rest of the way for an 86-70 victory over league champion and number one seed Utah State.
Aztec headman Brian Dutcher commented, “We got down 17 in the first half. We don’t panic. We just fight our way, fight, fight, fight, and we caught a break.”
Dutcher added, “When Osobor got his second foul, he went to the bench; they were having a good rhythm, and with him out of the game, they had to change how they were playing a little bit. We decide to play Micah and Jaedon with two fouls each, running the risk of maybe them getting a third foul by half.”
Friday’s first semifinal featured a battle of the two most dominant players in the Mountain West in Utah State’s MW Player of the Year, Great Osobor Jr., and SDSU’s Jaedon LeDee.
In their respective teams’ wins, the pair combined for a monstrous 63 points on 21-of-26 shooting, 45 free throw attempts and 33 rebounds.
But they can’t do much to affect the game from the bench. LeDee was the first to head that direction just four minutes in, quickly picking two personal fouls.
Utah State immediately went to work, pushing the lead to 17 points at 34-17 with a 20-2 run during a 5:42 stretch when the Aztecs failed to register an FG.
Moments later, with LeDee back in the game, Osobor would pick up his second personal and head to the bench himself with the score 34-19 and 6:23 left in the half.
The Aztecs took advantage with a speedy 7-0 run in just over a minute to draw within eight at 34-26 and 5:05 left.
SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher decided, at the next stoppage, that he’d rolled the dice enough with his star and sat him down the rest of the half, as did USU head man and MW Coach of the Year Danny Sprinkle.
The battle continued with the respective point men, Darrion Trammell for SDSU and the Aggies’ Darius Brown II, guiding their offenses.
Brown immediately registered a bucket, but Trammell would cast the last lightning bolt of the half, canning a triple from the top of the circle as time expired, drawing SDSU back with a possession, 39-36 at the break.
The second half started quickly, with both teams lighting it up from the field. SDSU, the MW worst shooting team in conf play, hit a scorching 4-of-5 triples and 8-of-10 overall, building a 60-53 lead with 12:40 to play.
Utah State was losing ground, shooting better than 60 percent themselves, with Ian Martinez hitting 3-of-3 from deep to keep them within striking distance.
But LeDee and the Aztecs would simply keep coming, with LeDee scoring 17 of his game-high 22 points in the second half, many of those facing up on Osobor and burying jumpers.
LeDee would pick up foul number four with 3:12 left and SDSU up 75-67, but with the MW Player of the Year relatively quiet in the second half, Dutcher chose to ride his horse to the finish line rather than sit him.
When Ledee picked up his fifth and Osobor headed to the line, there may have been a glimmer of hope, but the Aggie big man missed both attempts, which could have cut the lead to eight with a full two minutes left.
That was all the Aztecs needed to lock things down and earn a seventh-straight appearance in Saturday’s MW tournament title game.
#7 Colorado State vs #6 New Mexico
Jaelen House scored 17 points and set a season-high in assists with eight while not committing a single turnover as the New Mexico Lobos defeated the Colorado State Rams 74-61 in MW tournament semifinal play.
New Mexico will face San Diego State in the MW tournament championship game Saturday at 3 pm.
NM head coach Richard Pitino reflected on his team’s performance, “They’ve been ready for the moment. There’s a lot of pressure that goes on you to play in a win-or-go-home tournament, to obviously be on the bubble.”
Pitino added, “I still think we can actually play faster, but all of them can make plays. Jaelen was ready to go today. Our whole goal — you can’t run if you don’t get stops, and the defense the last — and even Air Force the last three games has been terrific. That’s allowed us to run.”
The Lobos picked up right where they left off in their quarterfinal win over Boise State, coming out of the gate full-throttle.
New Mexico’s speed forced the Rams into four quick turnovers, with House and Donavan Dent cashing them in for seven points combined, staking them to an 11-0 lead after 3:45.
Lobo fans were on their feet waving their yellow flags trimmed in the red sun of the Zia as Colorado State head coach Niko Medved quickly called timeout.
The Rams absorbed that first punch and started chipping away, starting with defense, leading to open looks for Joe Palmer and Jalen Lake to convert a three-pointer each.
Donavan Dent was called for a foul going for a steal not long after, and in protesting the call, he added a technical to the mix for his second.
With Dent on the bench, CSU PG Isaiah Stevens potted the free throws to draw the Rams closer at 17-13 halfway through the period.
They would be the only points of the half for Stevens, who struggled to an uncharacteristic 0-for-6 first half on what appeared to be a wonky ankle.
The Rams continued to wrangle House & Co. and eventually got the contest even at 23-23 at the under-eight media timeout.
The CSU attack would stall, however, failing to convert their last nine FG attempts. New Mexico’s 8-0 run to finish the half took them to the break ahead 33-25.
Playing their third game in as many days, the break seemed to reenergize the Lobos, coming out determined to reestablish their pace.
New Mexico would steadily widen the margin to 15 points at 51-36 with 12:55 left on a triple from Jemarl Baker Jr.
The Rams, however, would have one last push in them coming out of the under-eight media timeout, keyed by a pair of three-pointers from Stevens and a bucket by Joel Scott, who would lead CSU with _ points to get the Rams back within seven, 61-64 with 4:45 left.
New Mexico would let them get no closer, however, as House would convert all six of his free throws down the stretch to keep the game out of reach.
