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Sports

San Diego State routs Utah State in MWC quarters

By Sports Network
Published | Updated

Las Vegas, NV (SportsNetwork.com) - Xavier Thames totaled 15 points and seven assists to lead eighth-ranked San Diego State to a 73-39 win over Utah State in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

Winston Shepard added 13 points and Josh Davis contributed eight points, 13 rebounds and six steals for the top-seeded Aztecs (28-3), who will face fourth-seed UNLV on Friday in the semifinals.

"Just with the flow of the game. Motion offense. We was moving the ball. Everybody was moving the ball. It was just the flow of the game. We played a great offensive game," said Thames about his assists.

Jarred Shaw scored 14 points for the Aggies, who had won their previous three games on the heels of four straight losses.

The Aztecs rattled off the first eight points as the Aggies missed their first nine field goal attempts. SDSU later went on a 17-3 tear to take a 31-11 lead under nine minutes left in the first half.

Utah State trailed 36-15 at the break.

The Aggies never came within double digits the rest of the way as the Aztecs sailed to the finish.

San Diego State head coach Steve Fisher was asked how important it was to be able to rest his starters for a good portion of the second half.

"Hopefully it will help us. Not often do you get the luxury of having a big lead and you can say, Okay, how much can we take X out? How much can we rest him? He plays a lot of minutes. He's not the only one, but he's the one I'm most concerned about because he guards their point guard," said Fisher.

"So to have that ability to do that should be helpful for us as we head into a quick turnaround for a game tomorrow and hopefully for a game on Saturday."

Game Notes

The Aztecs outrebounded Utah State, 35-27 ... Utah State scored a season-low 39 points, which are its fewest in a game since scoring 33 points at UC Santa Barbara on Jan. 10, 1994 ... SDSU shot 52.5 percent (31-of-59) from the floor, while Utah State made 29.3 percent (12-of-41) of its field goal tries.