San Diego State’s Mountain West chapter ends with title game loss to Utah State
Will Despart
Host · Writer
LAS VEGAS — Greener pastures undoubtedly lay ahead for San Diego State when it enters the new look Pac 12 next season, but that doesn’t make the program’s Mountain West exit any less bittersweet.
The Aztecs’ storied 27-season run in the conference officially came to an end on Saturday with a 73-62 loss to No. 1 seed Utah State in the conference championship game, closing an unparalleled era of dominance that included seven tournament championships and 17 championship game appearances since the 1999-00 season.
Much of the game was exactly what you would have expected the final Mountain West championship as we know it to be, a competitive and hotly contested back and forth in the powder keg that is a neutral Thomas & Mack Center. However, the closing minutes showed why Utah State has widely been considered the conference’s only “safe” NCAA Tournament team to be throughout the season.
Leading 55-52 with just over five minutes remaining, tournament MVP MJ Collins buried 3-pointers on consecutive possessions to stretch Utah State’s lead 61-54. The latter 3-pointer was accompanied by an off-ball foul on Aggie forward Zach Keller against Reese Dixon-Waters while Utah State was in the bonus, sending Keller to the line where he would make both free throws that extended the lead to 63-54 and would ultimately serve as the championship dagger.
“I lost MJ Collins going on the baseline and just happened to run into a screener,” Dixon-Waters said. “I tried to cheat it, something I shouldn’t have done, and whatever happened happened.”
Collins finished with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting, making 4-of-10 attempts from 3-point range. Mountain West Player of the Year Mason Falslev added 16 points for Utah State but was hobbled in the first half with a lower leg injury and was clearly less than 100 percent from that point in the game on.
Dixon-Waters led San Diego State with 20 points, rebounding from his poor offensive performance in the semifinals on Saturday with an 8-of-12 afternoon from the field (2-of-3 from beyond the arc). Saturday’s hero BJ Davis scored 14 points on 4-of-8 shooting, while Magoon Gwath added 12 points with a 4-of-10 clip. Miles Byrd again struggled from the field, scoring seven points on 2-of-8 shooting, and the guard appeared to tweak his knee in the closing minutes of the game.
With Saturday’s game ending around 11:40 on Saturday night, San Diego State didn’t get back to their hotel until early Sunday Morning. Excuses are out of character for this bunch, but it was a clear explanation for the Aztecs’ lack of legs down the stretch against what appeared to be a much more energized Utah State team.
