Aggie Call BB: USU 87 New Mexico 85

With five seconds remaining, graduate guard Darius Brown II nailed a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock to give No. 22 Utah State men’s basketball an 87-84 lead over New Mexico. The Aggies fouled the Lobos to prevent a tying three. After a made free throw, New Mexico couldn’t get a last shot off an intentional miss and the Aggies outlasted New Mexico, 87-85, to win the Mountain West regular season championship outright in front of a sold-out crowd on Saturday night inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. It marked Utah State’s first-ever outright regular season championship in the Mountain West and first MW regular season title since 2018-19. Utah State shot 53.6 percent (30-of-56) from the field, 30.0 percent (6-of-20) from downtown and 75.0 percent (21-of-28) at the free-throw line. With the top seed in the bracket, Utah State will play its first game of the Mountain West Men’s Basketball Championship on Thursday, March 14, at 1 p.m. (MT), in the quarterfinal round against the winner of the 8/9 matchup at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Hear reactions from Coach Danny Sprinkle, players and fans.