LOGAN, Utah — With five seconds remaining, graduate guard Darius Brown II nailed a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock to give No. 22 Utah State men's basketball an 87-84 lead over New Mexico.
The Aggies fouled the Lobos to prevent a tying three. After a made free throw, New Mexico couldn't get a last shot off an intentional miss and the Aggies outlasted New Mexico, 87-85, to win the Mountain West regular season championship outright in front of a sold-out crowd on Saturday night inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
It marked Utah State's first-ever outright regular season championship in the Mountain West and first MW regular season title since 2018-19. USU has now won or shared 18 conference championships all-time. Utah State was picked to finish ninth in the preseason polls under first-year head coach Danny Sprinkle as it returned zero points from last year's NCAA Tournament team.
Senior guard Ian Martinez led the Aggies with a game-high 22 points, including three 3-pointers. Junior wing Great Osobor logged his 14th double-double of the season with 21 points, 12 rebounds and three assists. Brown tallied 19 points, including the game-winning triple, and dished out nine assists. Redshirt freshman Mason Falslev scored 10 points on a perfect 5-of-5 from the field, while totaling three rebounds and two assists.
New Mexico (22-9, 10-8 MW) took an early lead with four-straight points to start the contest. Utah State (26-5, 14-4 MW) claimed the lead on a 5-0 surge behind an and-one, one-handed hammer from Martinez. Both sides traded layups before USU extended its lead to six points, 20-14, on a 6-0 run with layups from Falslev and Osobor.
The Lobos tied things up midway through the half on back-to-back treys before Martinez and Brown would combine for a 6-0 spurt to give the Aggies a 33-27 lead with just under eight minutes before halftime. New Mexico responded by outscoring Utah State 17-6 until the break, including seven Lobo free throws. UNM went to the locker room with a 44-39 advantage.
After the break, USU retook the lead on a 6-0 run to start the second half. Osobor dunked, Martinez knocked down a three and junior guard Josh Uduje hit free throws to extend the advantage to four points, 52-48. The Lobos would regain the lead and shoot out to a six-point lead, 65-59, hitting three 3-pointers over five minutes.
The Aggies bounced back with an 11-4 run, capped by two free throws from Brown, to gain a 70-69 advantage with just under eight minutes remaining. By trading 3-pointers and free throws for layups, USU led by four points, 82-78, with just over two minutes left. New Mexico sophomore guard Donovan Dent tied things up at 82 on back-to-back layups with a minute remaining.
Martinez dunked and Lobo graduate guard Jaelen House hit a jumper to set the stage for Brown. After Martinez dribbled down the shot clock, the ball was swung into Osobor who dealt it out to Brown for the game-winning triple. Aggie fans stormed the court and cheered as Utah State cut the net to celebrate its regular season championship secured by an 87-85 victory over New Mexico.
Utah State shot 53.6 percent (30-of-56) from the field, 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from downtown and 75.0 percent (21-of-28) at the free-throw line.
Senior forward Mustapha Amzil paced the Lobos with 18 points, five rebounds and two assists. New Mexico shot 52.3 percent (34-of-65) from the field, 40.0 percent (6-of-15) from behind the arc and 61.1 percent (11-of-18) at the charity stripe.
With the top seed in the bracket, Utah State will play its first game of the Mountain West Men's Basketball Championship on Thursday, March 14, at 1 p.m. (MT), in the quarterfinal round against the winner of the 8/9 matchup at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Utah State men's basketball news and information is available on Facebook (facebook.com/usumensbasketball), on Twitter (@usubasketball) and on Instagram (@usubasketball). Fans can also get USU men's basketball highlights on YouTube (youtube.com/utahstateathletics). Aggie fans can follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter (@usuathletics), on Facebook (facebook.com/usuathletics) or on Instagram (@usuathletics).
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