Utah State Falls To No. 20 SDSU In Mountain West Tournament Title Game
Mar 11, 2023, 6:36 PM | Updated: Mar 12, 2023, 9:37 am
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah State men’s basketball team suffered a loss to the No. 20 San Diego State Aztecs in the Mountain West Conference Tournament title game.
The No. 3 seed Aggies and No. 1 seed Aztecs played at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada on Saturday, March 11.
USU fell to SDSU, 62=57.
The Aztecs defeat the Aggies to win the #MWMadness title ‼️ 🏆 🏀 pic.twitter.com/Anj6ezYhHQ
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 12, 2023
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The Aggies and Aztecs played a close contest during the 10 minutes of game time. Around the midway point of the opening half, Utah State separated itself by a few possessions on the scoreboard.
With 6:58 to go until halftime, USU had built its lead up to 11 points and appeared to be in full control.
However, the Aztecs battle back before the break and cut the Aggies’ advantage to one point at halftime, 29-28.
Following the break, the two teams continued to battle to start the second half.
With 16:04 to go, Steven Ashworth hit a three-pointer to give the Aggies a 34-33 lead. 19 seconds later, Matt Bradley responded with a layup to get the lead back for the Aztecs.
San Diego State never trailed again. The Aztecs ended up outscoring the Aggies by six points over the final 20 minutes of action.
Utah State finished the game shooting 37.1 percent from the field, including 16.7 percent from beyond the arc. San Diego State shot 33.3 percent overall and only 10.5 percent on three-pointers.
Two Aggies scored in double figures. Ashworth led USU with 13 points. Trevin Dorius added 12 points. Utah State’s second unit combined to score 16 points.
Bradley carried San Diego State with a game-high 16 points.
Following the contest, Ashworth and Taylor Funk of Utah State were named to the Mountain West’s All-Tournament team.
Steven Ahworth and Taylor Funk named to the All Tournament team.
Matt Bradley named Tournament MVP.
— Scott Garrard (@ScottyGZone) March 12, 2023
With the win, San Diego State earned the Mountain West’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
With the loss, the Aggies fell to a 26-8 record this season.
Utah State will now wait to find out its postseason fate.
