LAS VEGAS, Nev. — For the second time in as many years, the University of Nevada Wolf Pack will enter the NCAA Tournament — but not as Mountain West Champions, after it was defeated by the San Diego State Aztecs in the semifinal round.
Last year, the Wolf Pack got beaten soundly by San Diego State, losing 90-73 in a game that probably wasn't as close as the final score might indicate — as the Aztecs led by as many as 34.
And in the first semifinal matchup of the day on Friday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, San Diego State stunned Nevada again, though it was a much closer affair , 65-56, this time around.
Still, the Aztecs appeared to maintain control for most of the way — leading by as much as 13 and was ahead on the scoreboard for over half the game.
Nevada senior guard Cody Martin had a productive first half, leading all scorers with 11 points, but his efforts weren't enough as his squad trailed by five, 34-29 at the break. No one else on the team hit more than two shots over the first 20 minutes and the team shot a modest 38 percent overall.
Meanwhile, San Diego State had a balanced scoring attack on the way to a 42 percent shooting half. The difference seemed to be the extra ball movement as the Aztecs assisted on seven of its 14 made baskets in the period, compared to just three assists by the Wolf Pack.
Aztec senior guard Devin Watson opened the second half with back-to-back 3-pointers to increase the advantage to 40-29 and Jeremy Hemsley added a layup to make it a 13-point SDSU bulge at the 18:30 mark.
But Nevada rallied to string together an 18-4 run and snag the lead around the midway point of the second half. The Wolf Pack may have expended too much energy getting back into the game though, as the Aztecs seemed to have the fresher legs late in the game.
The Aztecs scored nine straight, tying the score at 51-51 before taking a seven point lead with about 30 seconds left, playing shut down defense over that stretch run as well. Then, when Nevada was forced to foul to extend the game, SDSU obliged by making its free throws to seal the game.
San Diego State held on for the 65-56 win to advance to its second straight Mountain West title game.
In the other semifinal game, Utah State wasted no time jumping all over Fresno State.
Both of the regular season meeting were decided by a single point, but Friday night was a complete route as the Aggies opened the scoring with a Sam Merrill 3-ball and never looked back.
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Utah State held its first double-digit lead less than seven minutes into the game, going up 17-6 at the 13:13 mark. And although the Bulldogs were able to fight back to within five at one point, the Aggies never really let their foot off the gas pedal.
USU looks susceptible against the Lobos in the quarterfinal round, committing 24 turnovers, but apparently got its bad game out of its system.
The Aggies turned the ball over just nine times for the game and shot a healthy 48.5 percent for the game — including knocking down 13 3-pointers and held a lead as big as 35 points on the way to an 85-60 beatdown of the Fresno State Bulldogs.
Friday's win almost assuredly locks up an NCAA Tournament bid for Utah State, meaning the Mountain West could possibly qualify three teams into the big dance if San Diego State is somehow about to pull off another upset on Saturday afternoon in the championship round.
Tip-time is scheduled for 3 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center with the NCAA automatic bid on the line.
Robert Maler is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers basketball and baseball and contributes content for various other sports as well. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Robert_Maler.
