Darrion Trammell and Keshad Johnson scored 15 points each to lead the top-seeded San Diego State men’s basketball team to a 64-49 win against fifth-seeded San Jose State in a semifinal game at the Mountain West tournament on Friday evening at the Thomas & Mack Center in Paradise, Nev.
Micah Parrish paced the reserves with nine points for San Diego State (26-6), which advanced to play the winner of second-seeded Boise State and third-seeded Utah State on Saturday.
Omari Moore, who came in averaging 17.8 points for San Jose State (20-13), was held to seven on 3-for-13 shooting. Tibet Gorener scored 15 points off the bench as the lone player in double figures for the Spartans, who beat Nevada in overtime in a quarterfinal on Thursday, its first win since joining the MWC in in 2013.
The Aztecs gained some early separation with a 7-0 run that gave them a 14-8 lead with 12:15 left in the first half.
Matt Bradley scored with a left-hand drive for a 21-12 lead, and Johnson hit a pullup jumper to make it 23-12. Two free throws by Parrish capped the 9-0 run and made it 25-12 with 2:59 left.
San Diego State maintained the double-digit lead the rest of the half as Trammell stepped into a 3-pointer and sank it with five seconds left to give the Aztecs a 33-20 lead at the break.
Moore was held to five points on 2-for-7 shooting in the first half.
San Diego State didn’t let up in the second half.
Lamont Butler converted a three-point play to extend the lead to 38-22, and Johnson scored on a dunk to make it 40-22 with 16:32 left in the game.
The Spartans managed to get back within 14 points twice over the next five minutes, but couldn’t get any closer until Sage Tolbert III scored on a dunk to make it 53-40 with 6:53 remaining.
Gorener then made a layup to make it an 11-point game, but Butler sank a 3 on the other end to give the Aztecs some breathing room.
–Field Level Media
