LAS VEGAS — Luke Nevill scored 10 of his 18 points in the second half of a defense-dominated championship game, and Shaun Green’s steal right before the final buzzer clinched Utah’s 52-50 victory over San Diego State on Saturday for the Mountain West Conference Tournament title.
Lawrence Borha scored 12 points and hit three free throws in the final 12.8 seconds for the second-seeded Utes (24-9), the regular-season co-champs. They won their second MWC Tournament title not with scoring, but by limiting San Diego State star Lorrenzo Wade to 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting.
Richie Williams hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the final 14 seconds for San Diego State to make it 51-50. After Borha missed his last free throw with 7.6 seconds left, Williams drove down the court for a final shot — but Green swiped the ball cleanly from his hands on the perimeter for probably the biggest play of the senior’s career.
Carlon Brown added 10 points for the Utes, who managed just one field goal in the final eight minutes, but stayed just ahead of the Aztecs (23-9) with free throws until Green’s big defensive play.
The 7-foot-2 Nevill, the MWC’s player of the year, grabbed 15 rebounds and collected the tournament MVP award.
Utah is headed to its first NCAA Tournament since 2005, while fourth-seeded San Diego State is likely to get in despite this unappealing finale.
Ryan Amoroso had 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Aztecs, but star scorers Wade and Kyle Spain combined for just 21 points on 9-of-25 shooting.
SAN DIEGO STATE (23-9)
Spain 4-9 1-4 9, Wade 5-16 2-2 12, White 1-3 2-2 4, Amoroso 5-10 0-0 11, Williams 3-8 0-0 8, Thomas 0-1 0-0 0, Gay 0-0 0-0 0, Shelton 2-8 0-0 6, Cheriet 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 5-8 50.
UTAH (24-9)
Tillie 1-3 0-0 2, Nevill 6-10 6-9 18, Drca 0-7 4-4 4, Borha 3-10 5-6 12, Brown 4-12 1-2 10, Green 1-2 4-6 6, Kepkay 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 15-45 20-27 52.
Halftime — San Diego State 20-18. 3-point goals — San Diego State 5-15 (Shelton 2-3, Williams 2-4, Amoroso 1-1, Thomas 0-1, Cheriet 0-1, Wade 0-2, Spain 0-3); Utah 2-15 (Brown 1-3, Borha 1-5, Green 0-1, Kepkay 0-1, Drca 0-5). Fouled out — Shelton, Wade. Rebounds — San Diego State 37 (Amoroso 15), Utah 35 (Nevill 15). Assists — San Diego State 9 (Williams 4), Utah 8 (Drca 3). Total fouls — San Diego State 20, Utah 10. A — 10,307.
