Aztecs Win MWC Tournament, Automatic NCAA BidSan Diego State beat UNLV 55-45 in the MWC finals Kawhi Leonard (6'6''-F-91) scored 16 points, grabbed a career-best 21 rebounds and sank all eight of his free throws in the final two minutes as San Diego State fended off UNLV 55-45 to win the Mountain West Conference title Saturday. The fourth-seeded Aztecs (25-8) earned the league's automatic NCAA bid, although third-seeded UNLV also burnished its NCAA credentials during the week. The Runnin' Rebels (25-8) hope to join San Diego State, No. 8 New Mexico and No. 14 BYU in the field that's announced Sunday. San Diego State upset New Mexico in the semifinals, the highest ranked team the Aztecs have ever beaten away from home, and sealed its fifth straight postseason berth - a first in the program's 89-year history. Leonard, who averaged 9.5 rebounds in the regular season, finished with 39 rebounds in 72 hours and was named the tournament's most valuable player. But he sealed the title with his prowess and poise at the line. His two free throws with 1:54 left gave San Diego State a 48-42 lead, and he made six more in the final 54 seconds to hold off the Runnin' Rebels, who got 11 points each from Tre'Von Willis (6'4''-G-88) and Oscar Bellfield (6'2''-G-90). D.J. Gay (6'0''-G-89) added 11 points for San Diego State, which lost 52-50 to Utah in last year's title game. Both teams were worn out after upsetting ranked teams in emotional, hard-fought semifinals at the Thomas & Mack Center on Friday night, the Aztecs dispatching top-seeded New Mexico and UNLV ousting BYU, the tournament's second seed. The toll of those taxing wins showed up Saturday afternoon as both teams struggled to find an offensive rhythm. Time and again, shots that were falling a night earlier clanged off the front of the iron. It took a flurry of baskets in the final two minutes of the first half for the Aztecs to take a 25-22 lead into the locker room. Billy White (6'8''-F-89), who missed nine of his first 10 shots, sank back-to-back buckets to give San Diego State a 43-40 lead, and Gay split a double team with a 3-pointer that made it a six-point game with 5 1/2 minutes remaining. Willis ended a nearly five-minute drought with a bucket that made it 46-42 with 2:54 left, but with Leonard perfect at the foul line down the stretch, the Runnin' Rebels didn't have a chance. Courtesy of MWC MWC Tournament Final: San Diego State - UNLV 55-45 MWC Tournament Semifinals: San Diego St. - N.Mexico 72-69 UNLV - BYU 70-66 MWC All-Tournament MVP: Kawhi Leonard of San Diego State MWC All-Tournament Team Jimmer Fredette (6'2''-G) of BYU Darington Hobson (6'7''-G/F-87) of New Mexico Billy White of San Diego State Kawhi Leonard of San Diego State Tre'Von Willis of UNLV Chace Stanback (6'8''-G/F-89) of UNLV
All-MWC 1st Team Jimmer Fredette of BYU Dairese Gary (6'1''-G-88) of New Mexico Darington Hobson of New Mexico Kawhi Leonard of San Diego State Tre'Von Willis of UNLV All-MWC 2nd Team Jackson Emery (6'3''-G-87) of BYU Andy Ogide (6'9''-F-87) of Colorado State Roman Martinez (6'6''-F-88) of New Mexico Malcolm Thomas (6'9''-F-88) of San Diego State Ronnie Moss (6'2''-G-88) of TCU All-MWC 3rd Team Tyler Haws (6'5''-G) of BYU Jonathan Tavernari (6'6''-G/F-87) of BYU Chace Stanback of UNLV Carlon Brown (6'5''-G-89) of Utah Desmar Jackson (6'5''-G-90) of Wyoming All-MWC Honorable Mention Evan Washington (6'4''-G) of Air Force Phillip McDonald (6'5''-G-89) of New Mexico D.J. Gay of San Diego State Billy White of San Diego State Zvonko Buljan (6'9''-F-87) of TCU Oscar Bellfield of UNLV Luka Drca (6'5''-G-87) of Utah Marshall Henderson (6'2''-G-90) of Utah MWC All-Defensive Team Jackson Emery of BYU Dairese Gary of New Mexico Chace Stanback of UNLV Tre'Von Willis of UNLV David Foster (7'3''-C-88) of Utah All-MWC Player of the Year: Darington Hobson of New Mexico All-MWC Defensive Player of the Year: David Foster of Utah All-MWC Freshman of the Year: Kawhi Leonard of San Diego State All-MWC Newcomer of the Year: Darington Hobson of New Mexico All-MWC Sixth Man of the Year: Jonathan Tavernari of BYU All-MWC Coach of the Year: Steve Alford of New Mexico | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Men
Women
Subscribe
Login
Fisher
