Pope, Hoetzel carry Aztecs past Boise 87-68 in MWC quarters (Mar 09, 2017)
LAS VEGAS (AP) Malik Pope tied his career high with 22 points with 10 rebounds, Max Hoetzel had 21 points and San Diego State dominated the second half for an 87-68 win over Boise State on Thursday night in the Mountain West Conference tournament quarterfinals.
Hoetzel finished 7 of 8 from the field with five 3s and in two games against BSU went 10-14 from distance. Pope left the game late with a sprained left knee, the same knee that caused him to miss nine games earlier in the season.
The Aztecs (19-13), who face second-seeded Colorado State in the semifinals on Friday, won a quarterfinal game for the 10th straight year.
SDSU closed the first half with a 13-2 run to take a 42-37 over the third-seeded Broncos (19-11).
In the second half, the Aztecs made 15 of 24 shots (62.5 percent), including 4 of 6 from distance to finish 9 of 14, and had a 20-11 advantage on the boards. They ended up a plus 14 rebounding.
Paris Austin and Nick Duncan had 15 points apiece for the Broncos.
