Las Vegas • Shane Rector scored 24 points, Chris Smith added 20 and Jalen Moore contributed 19 Wednesday to lead Utah State to an 88-70 victory over Wyoming in the first round of the Mountain West Conference men's basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The ninth-seeded Aggies advance to Thursday's quarterfinals, where they will play top-seeded San Diego State. The Aztecs beat Utah State twice during the conference season, 70-67 and 70-55.
Against Wyoming, the Aggies hit their first four shots. They built a 41-16 lead with 6:52 left in the first half. Wyoming got as close as seven in the final minutes, but Utah State prevailed and improved to 16-14 this season.