LAS VEGAS – The 2025 Mountain West Basketball Tournament semifinals delivered thrilling performances, as No. 5 Boise State edged No. 1 New Mexico in a nail-biting finish, while No. 2 Colorado State withstood a furious No. 3 Utah State comeback to advance to the title game.
No. 5 Boise State 72, No. 1 New Mexico 69
Boise State secured its spot in the Mountain West Championship Game for the second time in program history after a clutch 3-pointer by Andrew Meadow with 48 seconds left sealed a 72-69 victory over top-seeded New Mexico.
Tyson Degenhart led the Broncos with 22 points, surpassing the Boise State career scoring record with 1,949 total points. Emmanuel Ugbo had a career-best 17 points, and Alvaro Cardenas tied his personal high with 12 assists. New Mexico’s Donovan Dent paced all scorers with 23 points, 18 of which came in the second half, while Nelly Junior Joseph contributed 19 points and eight rebounds.
“Winning it my freshman year, I just got a taste of it, and ever since then, I’ve just wanted to get back and win it again,” Degenhart said. “This will be my last go-around, and there’s nothing better than being in the Mountain West Championship Game with a chance to win it.”
New Mexico held a 34-28 halftime lead after Junior Joseph scored seven of his 10 first-half points in the opening minutes. Degenhart, however, kept Boise State within reach with nine first-half points before the Broncos’ offense ignited down the stretch. With just over nine minutes remaining, Boise State went on a 10-0 run—eight of those points from Ugbo—to grab the lead.
Despite a late surge from Dent, who scored 11 of New Mexico’s final 13 points, his contested game-tying 3-point attempt in the final seconds missed, securing Boise State’s victory.
“Overall, what I told them in the locker room was, yes, disappointing, we didn’t win another championship,” New Mexico head coach Richard Pitino said. “But we’re 26-7, and we’re going to the NCAA Tournament, so I’ve got to remind the guys of that.”
Boise State head coach Leon Rice praised his team’s resilience, especially after a mid-season skid. “Every team goes through a valley of death,” Rice said. “To be able to learn and develop that backbone and toughness, it’s just how you respond. It’s our culture.”
The Broncos, whose only Mountain West Tournament title came in 2022, will have another shot at the championship on Saturday.
No. 2 Colorado State 83, No. 3 Utah State 72
Colorado State led by as much as 27 points and held off a furious Utah State comeback to punch its ticket to the Mountain West Championship Game with an 83-72 victory.
Nique Clifford powered the Rams with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists, while Kyan Lake and Jalen Lake added 14 points each. Colorado State had one of the season’s most efficient shooting performances, hitting 59.5% from the field and 55.6% from beyond the arc.
Mason Falslev led Utah State with 22 points, 14 of which came in the second half, and added seven rebounds and four steals. Ian Martinez finished with 13 points, while Karson Templin contributed 11 points and nine boards.
“It’s pretty special, we’re writing our names in history, so if we go out and do what we’re supposed to tomorrow… that’s what you work for all year, that’s what you want to do as a collegiate athlete,” Clifford said. “Just to see where we came from at the beginning of the year, nobody thought we was going to be in this position, so it’s been cool to prove everybody wrong and do what we knew we were capable of.”
Colorado State dominated the first half, shooting 64% from the field and draining nine 3-pointers on 16 attempts. Clifford and Lake each had 13 first-half points, and Clifford capped off the half with a steal and score that helped extend the Rams’ lead to 49-30 at the break.
After going up by 28 early in the second half, CSU faced an aggressive Utah State rally. The Aggies went on a 16-1 run with under 10 minutes remaining and cut the deficit to seven points with just over a minute left. However, Colorado State iced the game at the free-throw line, making 10 of 18 down the stretch.
“We knew Utah State wasn’t going to go away,” Colorado State head coach Niko Medved said. “Credit to them for the fight, but I’m proud of our guys for staying composed and closing it out.”
Utah State, which won the rebounding battle 39-34 and had 20 offensive boards leading to 18 second-chance points, now awaits its NCAA Tournament fate, with the selection show airing on Sunday.
“We don’t get easy baskets in the half-court, so we need to get out and we need to run and we need to play fast, and Colorado State both times did not let us do that,” Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “It’s going to be a great game tomorrow, two teams that I think are playing as good as anything in the country.”
Meanwhile, Colorado State reaches the championship game for the first time since 2017 and looks to claim its first Mountain West Tournament title since 2003.
“We’re able to beat people in different ways, defending at a high level, sharing it, and a lot of guys knocking down shots but anyone who is in this situation the team we’re going to play tomorrow is going to say the same thing – they’ve got a lot of guys playing really, really well,” Medved said.
The Mountain West Championship Game between Boise State and Colorado State will tip off Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center.
