Reno, Nev. » For the past two months, if Utah State made a run on a team, the game was usually over. Indeed, the Aggies were so good at putting opponents away, that by Saturday night it had almost become second nature.

Against New Mexico State, however, USU ran into someone who had the firepower to fight back from multiple deficits, the poise to make plays down the stretch and the athletes to knock Utah State off its game.

As a result, USU faltered in the Western Athletic Conference title game, losing 69-63 to a jubilant New Mexico State team and falling for the first time since Jan. 4. NMSU three times battled back from second-half deficits with spurts of their own. And when they grabbed a 55-53 lead on a Jonathan Gibson jumper with 5:19 remaining, New Mexico State never trailed again.

"They just kept answering every run," Utah State coach Stew Morrill said. "They have a lot of guys and a lot of people who can make plays. They simply made the plays when they had to."

The loss snaps a 17-game winning streak for a Utah State team that enters Selection Sunday with a 27-7 record, and a WAC regular-season title that was won by three games. As of Saturday night, all indications are that USU will make the tournament as an at-large team. For Aggie fans, two games to watch today will be the Big 10 title game between Minnesota and Ohio State, and the Southeastern Conference title game between Kentucky and Mississippi State. MSU and Minnesota are on the bubble, and in both cases snatching an automatic bid that comes with the conference title has the potential to hurt Utah State.

"We've done everything that's been asked of us," Morrill said. "If we don't get in, it makes things really tough. Our body of work clearly shows that we should be in the NCAA Tournament."

Against New Mexico State, USU had problems containing Jahmar Young all game. The 6-foot-5 junior guard scored 19 points, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. He also made the game-winning shot against Nevada in Friday's semifinal.

Troy Gillenwater also presented problems for USU with his ability to score in the paint. He dropped in 15 points with four rebounds, but gave the Aggies fits down low.

"This team has a bunch of hard workers," New Mexico State coach Marvin Menzies said. "We knew this would be a war, and we put ourselves in position to win the war. Most importantly, we did what we needed to be done defensively."

Utah State encountered several problems from the start. Tai Wesley, the Aggies junior forward, broke his nose in the first five minutes of the game. Although he scored 13 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, he struggled with his breathing and the training staff struggled to stop his nose from bleeding.

With Wesley not himself, Jared Quayle took on most of the scoring load. He came up with a game-high 25 points, but had just two rebounds, way below his average. Utah State struggled to shoot the basketball, going 4-for-16 from three-point range. Brian Green, Tyler Newbold and Pooh Williams combined to shoot 3-for-16, something that hasn't been done since late December.

"You have to give New Mexico State credit," Morrill said. "They shot a higher percentage than us, and a few more of their shots went in than ours. They deserve to be where they're at."

tjones@sltrib.com