Reno, Nev. » Boise State was said to be a dangerous eight seed.

The Broncos were said, on the strength of winning three of four games to close the Western Athletic Conference regular season, to be a hot team heading into the WAC tournament.

And while BSU did have its moments against Utah State on Thursday afternoon at the Lawlor Events Center, the Aggies showed exactly why they haven't been beaten since Jan. 4.

USU defeated Boise State 84-60 in a game that was competitive for the first 28 minutes but got out of hand at the end. The win sends the Aggies (26-6) into a semifinal game tonight against Louisiana Tech, and puts them one step closer to an NCAA Tournament berth.

"I think we finally solved their pressure defense," Aggies coach Stew Morrill said. "That and we finally started to make some shots helped a lot. It always helps when you start to make shots."

Despite the lopsided score, this was a close game for much of the time. Utah State led 35-30 at halftime, 37-35 with 16 minutes remaining and 48-44 with 12 minutes left.

That's when the Aggies started to go to work in earnest. Not only did USU start making shots at a 58-percent second-half clip, Utah State figured out how to defend a Boise State offense that relied on dribble penetration.

"It was Utah State basketball," Aggie forward Pooh Williams said. "We started playing well defensively, and we started moving the ball. That helped a lot."

It also helped that Williams broke out in the second half. The junior scored 13 of his 18 points in the second half, with most of them coming off sharp slashes to the bucket. Once he got going, he received help from a number of different sources.

Brian Green came off the bench to score 18 points, many of them back-breaking jumpers from three-point range. Tai Wesley dominated the paint, scoring at will down low and contributing to Utah State's offensive efficiency with his ability to pass the ball. He scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to go along with four assists.

Lastly, Jared Quayle did his usual, which is score 13 points and grab 13 rebounds. Quayle handed out four assists and made sure that the ball got into the hands of the scorers at the right time.

"We just kept playing, even when they made a few runs," Morrill said. "We figured that we'd eventually start to get a few stops. Fortunately, we were able to get it going on offense as well."

The Aggies finished the game on a 36-16 run. Not only that, USU handily won the rebounding battle, 47-27, the Aggies hit more three-pointers, more free-throws and came up with 15 offensive rebounds.

Boise State (15-17) put four players in double figures. DaeQuon Montreal had 16 points, Reggie Arnold had 14 points, Ike Okoye had 12 points and La'Shard Anderson scored 10.

tjones@sltrib.com