LAS VEGAS — Matt Mitchell scored 14 points to lead No. 19 San Diego State to a 68-57 victory over Utah State in the Mountain West Tournament championship game Saturday.
The Aggies had beaten San Diego State in each of the last two tournament championship games. The Aztecs, who also won the regular-season championship, had lost six of their previous seven title game appearances.
With the league’s automatic bid, the Aztecs return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2018. It marked just the fifth time the No. 1 seed won the title in 22 years.
Nathan Mensah added 10 points and eight rebounds for the Aztecs, and Trey Pulliam also scored 10.
Junior center Neemias Queta led the Aggies with 18 points, six rebounds, and three blocked shots. Justin Bean added 12 points and six rebounds.
San Diego State (23-4) snapped Utah State’s six-game winning streak, during which the Aggies (20-8) had allowed just 58.5 points per game. The Aztecs had their 58th point by the 5:53 mark of the second half.
In a battle between the league’s two most stringent defenses, San Diego State exhibited its dominance with a 10-2 edge in steals. The turnover margin was seven, with Utah State committing 16 costly turnovers the Aztecs turned into 14 points.
Already having suffered a regular-season sweep by Utah State, the Aztecs wasted no time at distancing themselves from the second-seeded Aggies by using a 6-0 run to start the second half and take a 34-24 lead and never really looked back.
The first half was eerily similar to last year’s championship game, which saw the teams combine to shoot 19 of 58 (32%) in the first half while scoring 50 points. In this game, the teams were 21 for 57 (36.8%) and combined to score 52 pts in the first half.
Outside of Queta, the Aggies couldn’t get much going with their offense, as the 7-footer had 12 of the team’s 24 points. While Queta was 4 of 6 from the floor in the first 20 minutes, the rest of the Aggies were just 5 of 18 (27.7%) from the field. Utah State was also plagued with turnovers, committing eight under San Diego State’s tenacious defense.
Though the Aztecs weren’t as offensively efficient as Utah State in the first half, hitting just 12 of 33 (36.4%), they got better balance with six shooters contributing on the stat sheet. San Diego State also found a way to maneuver around Queta in the first half, outscoring the Aggies in the paint, 14-8.
BIG PICTURE:
Utah State: The Aggies came into the game ranked 22nd in the nation with 12.6 offensive rebounds per game, and with 136 more boards on the offensive glass than their opponents. Saturday they finished with 12.
San Diego State: Saturday marked the fifth time this season Mensah had at least eight points and eight rebounds. It was the first time he had accomplished the feat since Feb. 8.
UP NEXT
Utah State: Hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid
San Diego State: NCAA Tournament
More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/College-basketball and http://www.twitter.com/AP_Top25
