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Collins scores 20 to lead Utah State 73-62 past San Diego State to claim Mountain West Championship

LAS VEGAS (AP) — MJ Collins Jr. scored 20 points to lead No. 1 seed Utah State past No. 2 seed San Diego State 73-62 on Saturday to win the Mountain West Championship.

Collins was 8-of-15 shooting and 4 of 10 behind the arc with three steals for the Aggies (28-6). Mason Falslev, who was named Mountain West Player of the Year, had 16 points — 10 in the second half — and six assists. Drake Allen added 13 points and six rebounds.

The Aggies led by one point with 7:40 to go before going on a 12-2 run over the next three minutes, led by a pair of 3-pointers from Collins. The Aztecs (22-11) never got closer than eight points after that.

Reese Dixon-Waters led the Aztecs with 20 points on 8-of-12 shooting. BJ Davis scored 14 and Magoon Gwath had 12 to go with eight rebounds.

It’s the final Mountain West Conference game for both teams. They’ll head to the Pac-12 after this season. The Aztecs’ 46 Mountain West tournament wins are the most in conference history.

The Aggies have punched a ticket to the NCAA Tournament, while the Aztecs will have to wait to see their fate on Sunday.

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Auriemma says he felt ‘dumb’ for the way exchange with Staley played out following Final Four game

STORRS, Conn. (AP) — Six weeks after his team lost to South Carolina in the Final Four, UConn coach Geno Auriemma said Monday that he felt “dumb” for how his heated postgame exchange with Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley played out in front of a national audience. “When I walked into the locker room afterward with the coaches, you are just shaking your head, thinking five more seconds, you couldn’t keep it in for five more seconds,” Auriemma said in his first news conference since then. “You just feel dumb for the way that it played out,” he added. “We are all human and we all do dumb (stuff).” Auriemma sparked a firestorm of criticism after he went over to Staley in the final seconds of South Carolina’s 62-48 victory at the Final Four in Phoenix and appeared to chastise her.
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