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Logan • So much for momentum.
After a deflating 86-85 loss to Fresno State on Saturday night at the Spectrum, Utah State enters the Mountain West Conference tournament as the No. 9 seed.
The Aggies would have been the No. 7 seed if they had beaten the Bulldogs, but a late-game meltdown prevented them from winning for the fifth time in the last seven games.
If Utah State had not squandered an 18-point lead against Fresno, it would have opened the tournament against Air Force. The Aggies swept their two games from the Falcons by an average of 16 points.
Instead, Utah State opens the tournament on Wednesday against Wyoming. The Cowboys won the only game between the teams this season, 84-65. They made a school-record 20 of 38 three-point shots.
Looking ahead to the rematch, Utah State junior forward Jalen Moore said, "We probably shouldn't let them make 20 threes against us. … We have to play better defense."
The Aggies built a 39-21 lead over Fresno State with three minutes left in the first half. But the Bulldogs closed the gap to 42-31 at halftime and, as coach Tim Duryea said, "... From there, we could never totally grab hold of it again."
Said Moore, who finished with 22 points, "We have to be tougher. We have to play harder. … They ramped up their defense a little bit in the second half and we didn't handle it very well."
Utah State committed 18 turnovers against the Bulldogs, who enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed. The Aggies failed to get a shot to the rim on three possessions in the final minute, when Fresno wiped out an 83-80 deficit.
"… That was a first-class lesson in beating yourself in every conceivable way," Duryea said.
Said Chris Smith: "Turnovers just killed us. … We have to find a way to fix that."
The loss dropped Utah State's record in Mountain West games decided by seven points or less to 1-6. The Aggies are 15-14 overall and 7-11 in league play heading into the tournament.
"We shouldn't be 7-11," Moore said. "We just have to close out games. We know we can play with [Fresno State], so hopefully we'll get to play them again."
Problem.
The loss to the Bulldogs also eliminated Utah State's chance to play Fresno State in the quarterfinals. Instead, the Aggies will meet league champion San Diego State, if they manage to get past Wyoming.
The Aztecs are 23-8 overall. At 16-2 in league play, they won the conference by three full games over Fresno. They swept Utah State this season, winning 60-57 in Logan and 70-55 in San Diego.
Twitter: @sluhm —
Mountain West men's basketball tournament
Wednesday
First round
Noon • No. 8 Wyoming (14-17) vs. No. 9 Utah State (15-14)
2:30 p.m. • No. 6 UNLV (17-14) vs. No. 11 San Jose State (9-21)
5 p.m. • No. 7 Colorado State (16-15) vs. No. 10 Air Force (14-17)
Thursday
Quarterfinals
1 p.m. • No. 1 San Diego State (23-8) vs. Wyoming-Utah State winner
3:30 p.m. • No. 4 New Mexico (17-14) vs. No. 5 Nevada (18-12)
7 p.m. • No. 2 Fresno State (22-9) vs. Colorado State-Air Force winner
9:30 p.m. • No. 3 Boise State (20-11) vs. UNLV-San Jose State winner
Friday
• Semifinals, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.
Saturday
• Championship game, 4 p.m.
Note • All times Mountain