First-half run helps New Mexico beat Utah St. in MW tourney (Mar 10, 2018)
LAS VEGAS (AP) Troy Simons scored 17 points, Joe Furstinger and Sam Logwood added 16 apiece and New Mexico beat Utah State 83-68 on Friday night in the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
The third-seeded Lobos will play No. 5 seed San Diego State in the championship game on Sunday. New Mexico (19-14), which has won seven in a row, beat the Aztecs 79-75 in the only regular-season matchup between the teams this season.
Utah State (17-17) went without a field goal for more than eight minutes and was scoreless for nearly seven as New Mexico used a 24-2 run to take a 14-point lead late in the first half. Furstinger hit two jumpers in an 8-0 run to open the second half and give the Lobos a 45-25 lead and a dunk by Makuach Maluach pushed the lead to 23 with 15 1/2 minutes to play. The Aggies used an 11-2 run to trim their deficit to 77-68 with 1:51 left, but got no closer.
Sam Merrill had 17 points and Koby McEwen scored 16 for No. 7 seed Utah State.
New Mexico shot 52 percent (28 of 54) from the field and outscored the Aggies 20-13 from the free-throw line.
