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Las Vegas • No. 23 Utah State escaped. That's not an exaggeration.

With everything on the line, the Aggies played their worst offensive game in a month, missing shots, missing free throws and turning the ball over at inopportune times.

They defeated San Jose State 58-54 in Friday night's Western Athletic Conference tournament semifinal at Orleans Arena. But they had to survive an Adrian Oliver 3-point attempt that would've given the Spartans a last-second lead.

But a win is a win, especially for a Utah State team fighting for the best seed possible in next week's NCAA Tournament. The Aggies are probably in no matter what happens in Saturday night's championship game. But the window is there for USU to garner as good a seed as the Aggies have ever gotten. So a loss to the Spartans would've been a very difficult thing for Utah State to overcome.

Utah State advances to Saturday night's championship game, the third consecutive title appearance for the Aggies. There, they will face the New Mexico State/Boise State winner.

"We're just glad to get out of here with a win," USU coach Stew Morrill said. "Credit to San Jose State. They've always played us tough, and tonight was no different. They had momentum going, we couldn't rebound the ball and we didn't shoot it well. We'll take it, though. We'll take it and advance."

Victory wasn't assured until Tai Wesley made two free throws in the waning seconds to provide a two-possession game and the final score. But it was a struggle all game for Utah State.

The Aggies led 44-34 with 12 minutes remaining, but the Spartans slowly ate into that lead, hitting the offensive boards for points and converting turnovers into baskets. When Justin Graham turned a steal into a hoop, USU clung to a 53-52 lead with a little more than a minute left. The four-point difference proved to be Brockeith Pane's four free throws for two Spartan technical fouls.

It says a lot that the Utah State players were not in a celebratory mood following the game. There were very few smiles, very few high-fives and the mood was somber in the postgame news conference.

"We're happy with the win and all, but let's not kid ourselves," Wesley said. "We're here for one thing. We want to win the championship. We want to put ourselves in a position to make some noise in the NCAA Tournament. So, yes, we're happy with this win, but we want more, and we have to play better for it to happen."

Utah State lost at Idaho earlier in the season because the Aggies couldn't handle a box-and-one zone defense. On Friday night, USU met a similar strategy, with San Jose State using Graham to roam while his other four teammates played a specific area.

It worked for the Spartans as Utah State shot 37 percent for the game. The Aggies had a meager five assists for the entire game and went 3 for 14 from three-point range.

"I expect us to play a little bit better tomorrow," Morrill said. "We've been here before, and we're just going to have to get some rest, work on some things and be ready to play tomorrow night."

Pane led Utah State with 16 points. Oliver scored 16 for San Jose State.

tjones@sltrib.comTwitter: @tonyaggieville —

Highlights

R Utah State advances to its third consecutive WAC title game.

• The Aggies lead by as many as 10 points in the second half.

• USU limits conference-leading scorer Adrian Oliver to 6-of-19 shooting.