LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Darius Brown II hit the winning 3-pointer with five seconds to play, Ian Martinez scored 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting, and No. 22 Utah State secured its first outright Mountain West regular-season title with an 87-85 win over New Mexico on Saturday night.
The game was tied 84-all when Brown hit the decisive 3-pointer for an 87-84 lead. New Mexico's Jaelen House hit a free throw with two seconds to go.
The General with the shot heard around the NATION!@dariusbrownii ➡️ HIM#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/kGA6aGSCV2
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) March 10, 2024
Great Osobor had 21 points — his 12th 20-point game of the season — and Brown finished with 19 for Utah State (26-5, 14-4), which has been a member of the conference since 2013.
Mustapha Amzil led the Lobos (22-9, 10-8) with 18 points and Donovan Dent had 17.
New Mexico found its offense early and started the first 10 minutes shooting 70% from the field and 60% from 3-point range. New Mexico got it done largely inside with 14 of its first 16 points coming in the paint.
The Lobos’ JT Toppin had 10 first half points while Utah State struggled to keep the Lobos off the offensive boards. New Mexico’s Nelly Joseph had eight first-half rebounds, four offensive.
Amzil provided a lift off the bench with three consecutive 3-pointers.
New Mexico held Utah State to just two free throws in the final four minutes of the first half while scoring nine points of its own to take a 44-39 halftime lead.
Utah State started the the second half with a 13-4 to pulll ahead, but New Mexico got hot from outside and jumped back on top 65-59.
The student section rallied after words were exchanged between the front row and House during a timeout. Utah State responded with dunks from Osobor and Kalifa Sakho to help retake a slim lead.
BIG PICTURE
Utah State earned its first outright Mountain West regular season title in 11 years.
New Mexico ended its regular season losing three of its last four games and fell to a sixth-place tie with Colorado State.
