2024 Mountain West Conference Tournament | San Diego State loses to New Mexico in championship game
The New Mexico Lobos beat the Aztecs 68-61 in the tournament final.
MWC Final: Aztecs lose to New Mexico
The San Diego State Aztecs lost to the New Mexico Lobos in the Mountain West Conference Championship game on Saturday 68-61. Saturday's game was the third meeting of the season between the two teams. The Aztecs won the previous matchup 81-70.
Jaelen House had 28 points, Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored 21 and JT Toppin posted a double-double to propel sixth-seeded New Mexico to a 68-61 victory over No. 5 seed San Diego State in the championship game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center, earning the Lobos an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament. New Mexico (26-9) had already made history by becoming the first team in the conference to win three games to reach the final. The Lobos won all three games by double digits and trailed for a total of 42 seconds. They were on the short end for just 6:38 against the Aztecs.
MWC Semifinals
MWC Semifinals: Aztecs defeat Utah State
Jaedon LeDee scored 22 points and San Diego State beat No. 18 Utah State 86-70 to reach the final of the Mountain West Conference Tournament for the 7th straight time.
“This team has always had great resolve,” said San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher, who has led the Aztecs to the conference tournament final for seven straight years. “It’s got a great grit about it. And we got down 17 in the first half. We don’t panic. We just fight our way. Fight, fight, fight, and we caught a break."
Lamont Butler added 16 points and Micah Parrish had 15 points for the Aztecs. San Diego State trailed by 17 in the first half but built a 69-56 lead with 8:12 left in the game led by LeDee. The Aztecs will play New Mexico in Saturday's championship at 3 PM on CBS 8.
WATCH: SDSU prepares for semifinal game against Utah State
MWC Quarternfinals
MWC Quarterfinals: Aztecs defeat UNLV
San Diego State defeated UNLV 74-71 in overtime on Thursday in Las Vegas. The win sends the Aztecs to the Mountain West Conference semi-finals to face off against Utah State starting at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.
Jaedon LeDee knocked down a jumper with 14 seconds left in overtime to give San Diego State the lead and added two free throws to set the final margin as the Aztecs topped UNLV 74-71 in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament Thursday night.
San Diego State advances to Friday's semifinals, where it will face Utah State, which needed overtime to get past Fresno State 87-75.
LeDee scored 34 points, seven in the overtime, and added 16 rebounds for the Aztecs (23-9). Lamont Butler scored 12 points, finishing 5 of 8 from the floor. Darrion Trammell shot 4 for 9, including 3 for 4 from beyond the arc to finish with 11 points.
The Rebels (19-12) were led in scoring by Dedan Thomas Jr., who finished with 29 points and five assists. UNLV also got 17 points, eight rebounds and four blocks from Keylan Boone. Justin Webster finished with 14 points. The loss snapped the Rebels' five-game winning streak.
John Howard in Las Vegas
MWC Tournament in Las Vegas
CBS 8's John Howard traveled to Las Vegas to follow the San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team through the 2024 Mountain West Conference Tournament. The team is looking to repeat as 2023 conference tournament champs that continued with their magical run in the 2023 NCAA Tournament that took them to the Final Four, eventually losing to the UConn Huskies in the National Championship game.
The San Diego State women's basketball team made it all the way to the Championship Game in their conference tournament, their 4th game in 4 days as the #7 seed, eventually losing to the UNLV Lady Rebels 66-49.
John Howard caught up with some of the players and coach Brian Dutcher on their thoughts about playing against the UNLV Runnin' Rebels on their home court at the Thomas & Mack Center.
2024 tournament schedule
The 2024 Tournament bracket and schedule
The Mountain West 2024 Men's Basketball Championship Tournament runs from March 13 to March 16 in Las Vegas, NV.
The San Diego State Aztecs men's basketball team entered the 2024 conference tournament as the #5 seed with an 11-7 conference record, 22-9 overall. That sending gave them a bye in the first round on Wednesday, with their first game in the Quarterfinals vs #4 UNLV at 2:30 p.m. (PT) at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The potential schedule for the Aztecs if they win each game to move on:
- Quarterfinal: San Diego State beats UNLV 74-71 in overtime
- Semifinal: San Diego State beats Utah State 86-70
- Championship Game: San Diego State lost to New Mexico 68-61
Aztecs magical 2023 season
The magical 2023 season
The Aztecs (32-7) were the 17th overall seed and fifth seed in the South Region at the beginning of the tournament in 2023. They defeated College of Charleston, the 47th overall seed, 63- 57, in the first round; Furman, the 53th overall seed, 75-52, in the second round; Alabama, the No. 1 overall seed, 71-64, in the Sweet 16, Creighton, the 22nd overall seed, 57-56, in the Elite 8; and Florida Atlantic, 72-71, in the Final Four before falling in their sixth game to the 13th overall seed, UConn.
The Aztecs finished their season as the first Mountain West Conference basketball team to advance beyond the Sweet 16, first to reach the Elite 8, first to play in the Final Four and first to play in the championship game.
San Diego State Aztecs eventually lost to the No. 4 seeded UConn Huskies 76-59, officially ending their history-making run in the NCAA Tournament.
Droughts in each half doomed San Diego State's attempt to bring the city its biggest sports championship. The Aztecs missed 14 consecutive shots in more than a 10-minute span of the first half and went scoreless for more than three minutes of the second half.
The Huskies jumped out to a 16-point first half lead before the Aztecs cut it to five with around five minutes remaining before UConn finished on a run to lead by 12-points at the half.
The Aztecs just couldn’t overcome the 24-36 halftime deficit in the second half. After trading baskets with the Huskies for the start of the second half, the Aztecs were able to cut the lead down to 6 points with just under 8 minutes to go. UConn quickly went on a run getting the lead back to double digits which they never let up.
After being the first Mountain West Conference basketball team to ever advance beyond the Sweet 16 round, SDSU couldn’t take down the Huskies in Houston.
WATCH: San Diegans stoked over SDSU Aztecs victory in NCAA March Madness