The Mountain West men’s basketball championship game matchup is set.
Top-seeded Boise State will play the No. 3 seed San Diego State for the Mountain West title Saturday.
The Aztecs outlasted No. 2 seed Colorado State 63-58 in the second semifinal Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Boise State will be making its first appearance in the Mountain West championship game. It will be the fifth straight appearance for San Diego State.
San Diego State outlasted a late rally from Colorado State for its victory. The Rams cut the deficit to two points late in the second half twice, but the Aztecs got a key layup from Aguek Arop and Adam Seiko made four free throws late to give the Aztecs the win.
The Aztecs received 27 points from their bench. The Colorado State duo of David Roddy and Isaiah Stevens managed for 22 and 21 points, respectively, but no one else scored more than nine points.
The Broncos were 68-61 winners in their semifinals game against the No. 4 seed Wyoming Cowboys. The Broncos led wire-to-wire, with their biggest lead being 17 points in the second half.
“If you haven’t watched many of these games, it’s just been — this was a microcosm of the season really, but usually without such a big lead,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “We were fortunate to get enough of a lead that we were able to hold them off at the end.”
Wyoming managed to cut Boise State’s lead to as little as three late in the second half. Boise State shot 1-of-7 from 3-point range and just 70% from the foul line in the second half that brought Wyoming close.
Emmanuel Akot and Marcus Shaver made free throws that helped Boise State keep its lead. Abu Kigab scored 22 points and Mladen Armus had a 16 point performance.
Graham Ike finished with 18 points for Wyoming. Hunter Maldonado and Drake Jeffries each had 17 points.
Both teams met in the regular season twice. Boise State won both matchups, a 42-37 defensive struggle in Viejas Arena on Jan. 22. And a 58-57 nail-bitter in Boise on Feb. 22.
Tip-off for Saturday is set for 3:00 p.m. PT, the game will be broadcasted on CBS.