For just the second time in school history, Colorado State will be playing in the Mountain West championship game. The Rams eliminated San Diego State early Saturday morning with a 71-63 victory at Thomas & Mack Center in the tournament’s semifinal round.
It will be CSU’s first time in the conference title game since the Matt Nelson-led winning squad in 2003.
The Aztecs took control early with a 15-2 run to begin the game. SDSU made the most of CSU miscues, scoring 15 of its first 24 points off turnovers. A physical, opportunistic Aztecs team got Gian Clavell off his game for much of the first half, in large part thanks to the effort of Dakarai Allen, the Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year.