National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
New Mexico 68, San Diego St. 59
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 10, 2012
Where: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Officials: # David Hall, # Verne Harris, # Randy McCall
Attendance: 12168

New Mexico 68, San Diego State 59: Tony Snell and Kendall Williams each had a team-high 14 points as the Lobos defeated the No. 21 Aztecs in the Mountain West Conference tournament final.

Drew Gordon finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds for the second-seeded Lobos (27-6), who won the conference tournament for the first time since 2005 and the third time overall.

New Mexico, which enters the NCAA tournament on a five-game winning streak, led by as many as 14 points in the first half before settling for a 34-23 halftime lead. The Lobos extended their advantage to 46-30 on Williams’ dunk with 13:03 remaining.

Top-seeded San Diego State (26-7) cut the deficit to 62-57 with 1:21 left after a pair of Xavier Thames free throws, but New Mexico made 6 of 10 free throws down the stretch.

The Aztecs saw their eight-game MWC tournament winning streak come to an end after shooting 37.1 percent from the field, including 33.3 percent from 3-point range.

Chase Tapley finished with a game-high 25 points and Jamaal Franklin added 16 points and 10 rebounds for San Diego State, which lost for only the second time in 10 games at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The Aztecs, who reached the MWC finals for the fourth straight time, had won the previous two conference tournaments.

GAME NOTEBOOK: San Diego State fell to 4-2 and New Mexico improved to 2-1 all-time in the MWC finals. … The No. 2 seed in the conference tournament improved to 6-0 in the championship game. … The Lobos have won 12 of their last 14 games. … Eight of the Aztecs’ 15 turnovers came in the second half. … Hugh Greenwood had 10 rebounds for New Mexico.
Top Game Performances
 
New Mexico   San Diego St.
Tony Snell 14 Scoring Chase Tapley 25
Kendall Williams 6 Assists Xavier Thames 4
Drew Gordon 12 Rebounds Jamaal Franklin 10
Kendall Williams 8 Free Throws Made Jamaal Franklin 3
Cameron Bairstow 2 Steals Xavier Thames 2
Drew Gordon 2 Blocks Garrett Green 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
New Mexico 68 38.5 8-18 20-27 15 35 3 7 11
San Diego St. 59 37.1 6-19 7-11 9 36 3 3 15