No. 7 San Diego State Aztecs holdoff UNLV 59-51 in MWC Semifinals

Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego, CA- No. 7 San Diego State Aztecs holdoff UNLV 59-51 in the Mountain West Conference Semifinals.

The Aztecs struggled out of the gate as the Rebels started the game on a 7-0 run to lead the Aztecs. The Aztecs would respond going on a 17-6 run to retake the lead 17-13 on a three by Dwayne Polee II. The Aztecs would maintain their lead and lead the Rebels 29-24 at the half.

The Aztecs would came out strong in the second half, starting the half on a 19-9 run to open the second half, extending their lead to 15 points 48-33 over the Rebels. The Runnin’ Rebels wouldn’t go away easily as with the Aztecs leading 50-37 with under six minutes left in the game, the Rebels would go on a 14-6 run to cut the Aztecs lead to five with 48.9 seconds to go. Polee would seal the game for the Aztecs with a steal on the next inbound pass to seal the Aztecs win 59-51 over UNLV in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament.

The Aztecs with the win improve to 23-0 this season when leading at halftime.

Dwayne Polee II lead the Aztecs in scoring with 18 points off the bench. The Aztecs leading scorer Xavier Thames finished second with 17 limits.

The Aztecs improve to (29-3) on the year and extend their winning streak to six games.

The Aztecs now advance to the title game for the fifth time in the the last six years and will face New Mexico in the title game on Saturday.