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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
RENO, Nev. (AP) -- Utah State's fans stormed the court and coach
Stew Morrill was at the center of the celebratory parade on the
floor, riding on the shoulders of two of the revelers.
Then, the chants from the crowd began: "Undefeated!
Undefeated!"
Capping an unbeaten season in conference play, Utah State beat New Mexico State 71-66 Saturday night in the Big West tournament championship.
Dmitri Jorssen put the exclamation point on the win when he
scored the last of his 15 points on a breakaway dunk in the final
seconds.
"Who would've imagined that?" Morrill said after Utah State
became the second Big West team to go undefeated in the conference
since the tournament began in 1976. UNLV, now in the Mountain West,
also went undefeated through the conference tournament in 1987 and
1991, both Final Four seasons.
"This is something I'm not sure you'll see happen again,"
Morrill said. "Going 19-0, there's been lots of pressure on these
guys the last month. And the tough thing in our league is even
after you go unbeaten at the end of the regular season, people are
telling you you're not in the NCAAs yet. So in this tournament you
have to start all over again."
Troy Rolle added 13 points and Bernard Rock and Tony Brown had
12 points apiece for Utah State (28-5), which claimed the automatic
NCAA Tournament berth with its third conference title.
"We had the feeling that we were in regardless but it's nice to
take the wonder out of it," Morrill said.
Shawn Daniels also had 11 points for Utah State, which won its
19th straight, all against Big West opponents. It is the nation's
longest active winning streak.
"I'll sleep on this one. Hopefully, tomorrow I'll wake up and
it won't be a dream," Rolle said.
Eric Channing's 16 points led New Mexico State (22-9) which was
unable to repeat its tournament title in its final season in the
Big West. New Mexico State is entering the Sun Belt Conference
starting next season.
Billy Keys and Brad Bestor each added 14 points for New Mexico
State, which still has hopes of receiving an NIT bid.
"We didn't move it or shoot it well and our defense was only
so-so," New Mexico State coach Lou Henson said. "Taking nothing
away from Utah State, but we didn't have much bounce or energy."
Up by two at the break, Utah State used a 14-2 run to stretch
its lead to 53-39 with 12:17 left.
Rolle and Brown began the flurry with consecutive 3-pointers and
Rock kept it going with a twisting layup and 17-foot fallaway
jumper.
New Mexico State fell behind while missing its first nine
three-point tries of the second half but found the range to get
back in it.
Channing, Zack Norvell and Bestor all connected in succession
from beyond the arc, pulling New Mexico State to 55-50 with 8:51
remaining.
Then, Keys and Channing made 3-pointers back-to-back to cut the
deficit to 61-58 with 4:30 left.
But Jorssen shook loose for a layup and after a steal by
Daniels, Rock drove in for another layup and a 65-60 lead. Rolle
and Jorssen each made two free throws and Jorssen added a dunk off
a fastbreak, enough to offset two late 3-pointers by New Mexico
State.
After trailing much of the first half, Utah State got a driving
layup from Rolle and two free throws from Brown in the final 45
seconds to take a 36-34 lead.
New Mexico State had opened an eight-point advantage behind the
outside shooting of Bestor and Channing.
Bestor hit two 3-pointers and Channing one during a 10-3 burst
that carried New Mexico State to a 30-22 lead with 5:30 remaining
in the first half.
But Utah State closed the period with a 14-4 burst, starting
with a short jumper by Daniels followed by a three-point play by
Rolle.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
New Mexico State Clubhouse
Utah State Clubhouse
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