Reno, Nev. » Utah State advanced to tonight's Western Athletic Conference title game the moment Louisiana Tech's Magnum Rolle went down with a sprained ankle and was helped off the court, never to return.

With just three minutes elapsed at that point, the contest wasn't officially over. But it should've been. Without the 6-foot-11 Rolle in the middle scoring and blocking shots, there was nothing on this night that was going to stop the Aggies.

The 85-55 final was almost a mere formality once Rolle hobbled to the sidelines. Utah State likely would've been too much for the Bulldogs to handle anyway with Kyle Gibson, one of the best perimeter players in the conference, himself nursing a sprained ankle that limited his ability to score. And with how well the Aggies are playing right now, it's predictable that they took full advantage of their opportunity.

"The obvious thing is that they weren't themselves," Utah State coach Stew Morrill said. "They just weren't at full strength. It's not our fault. We just played, went out and took care of business."

The win is the 17th consecutive victory for a USU team that hasn't lost a game since an 82-60 defeat to La. Tech on Jan. 4. And at this point, it's hard to imagine Utah State missing the NCAA tournament, no matter what happens tonight in the conference title game against New Mexico State.

If Friday night's result was a bit surprising, it also has the potential to become a huge advantage as the tournament extends into its third night because Morrill was able to get significant rest for his starters, particularly senior point guard Jared Quayle, who played just 23 minutes. Indeed, Tyler Newbold was the only Aggie to see more than 30 minutes of action, and every member of USU's roster received at least four minutes of playing time.

"We'll see if it helps," Morrill said. "I'll let you know after Saturday night."

The scoring was spread out, as Utah State (27-6) has been a balanced team all season long. Quayle led the way with 16 points, many of them in the opening 10 minutes when the game was still somewhat in doubt. Brady Jardine, the sophomore forward, came off the bench and scored 13 points to go along with five rebounds. Pooh Williams scored 10, and Jaxon Myaer offered great minutes off the bench at point guard and scored five of his seven points in the first half.

"I think we all just wanted to be aggressive," Quayle said. "I was getting some open looks early on, and I wanted to put them in the basket."

Aside from the scoring, Utah State dominated most of the other statistical categories. The Aggies outrebounded Louisiana Tech 39-26. They had 22 assists and just 10 turnovers. They hit 10 of 19 three-point shots and they allowed the Bulldogs to shoot just 34 percent from the field.

"I was impressed with how our guys kept playing," Morrill said. "That's something we talked about during timeouts. We didn't want to stop executing. We wanted to do what was needed."

tjones@sltrib.com