Utah State beats San Jose State, clinches a share of MWC crown

Darius Brown II scored 21 points on seven 3-pointers, Mason Falslev had 20 and No. 22 Utah State beat San Jose State 90-70 late on Wednesday night to clinch a share of the Mountain West Conference regular-season title.

Great Osobor added 16 points and eight rebounds, and Javon Jackson scored 15 for the Aggies (25-5, 13-4 Mountain West).

Utah State can claim its first outright regular-season conference title with a win Saturday against New Mexico, which would continue an unexpected run under first-year coach Danny Sprinkle. Utah State made the NCAA Tournament last season, but was picked to finish ninth in the league this year after adding 13 new players and returning zero points from last year’s team. The Aggies also won a share of the regular-season title in 2019.

NEW MEXICO 79, FRESNO STATE 58 >>

Jamal Mashburn Jr. scored 19 points, JT Toppin had a doubledouble to lead coach Steve Alford’s Lobos.

Mashburn shot 5 for 13 (4 for 5 from 3-point range) and 5 of 6 from the free-throw line for New Mexico (22-8, 10-7 MWC). Toppin finished with 15 points, 16 rebounds and three blocked shots. Inland products Donovan Dent (Centennial HS) had seven points and seven assists, and Jemarl Baker Jr., (Roosevelt HS) had three points and two blocks for the Lobos.

NO. 4 TENNESSEE 66, NO.17 SOUTH CAROLINA 59 >> Dalton Knecht scored 26 points and the Volunteers wrapped up their first Southeastern Conference regular-season title since 2018.

South Carolina (24-6, 12-5 SEC) cut a 14-point second-half deficit to 5956 on Meechie Johnson’s inside shot with 1:13 to go. But Tennessee (24-6, 14-3) made seven foul shots the rest of the way to seal an outright league championship.

Men’s highlights NO. 1 HOUSTON 67, UCF 59 >>

L.J. Cryer scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half as the top-ranked Cougars rallied in Orlando late on Wednesday to clinch at least a share of the Big 12 regular-season title. It is the first season in the Big 12 for Houston (27-3, 14-3).

NO. 2 UCONN 74, NO. 8 MARQUETTE 67 >>

Alex Karaban and Cam Spencer shot a combined 10 of 16 from 3-point range and Big East champion Huskies won in Milwaukee for its first road win over an AP Top 25 team in a decade.

Uconn (27-3, 17-2 Big East) hadn’t defeated a ranked team in a true road game since 2014. Karaban scored 23 points while shooting 5 of 9 from beyond the arc to help the reigning national champion Huskies win for the 17th time in 18 games. Spencer went 5 of 7 on 3-point attempts and had 17 points, eight rebounds, six assists and three steals.

Kam Jones scored 18 and Oso Ighodaro had 16 for Marquette (22-8, 13-6), which played without injured Tyler Kolek, the 2023 Big East player of the year. NO. 6 IOWA STATE 68, NO. 20 BYU 63 >> Tamin Lipsey scored 19 points and Curtis Jones added 18 to help the Cyclones finish the season undefeated at home for the first time in 23 years.

Iowa State (24-6, 13-4 Big 12) completed its home schedule 18-0 and remained within a game of conference leader Houston heading into the final weekend. BYU (21-9, 9-8) failed in its bid to knock off a top-10 team for the second time in two weeks.

Women’s highlights NO. 13 OREGON STATE 85, NO.18 COLORADO 79 (2OT) >>

Raegan Beers had 27 points and 13 rebounds, Timea Gardiner added 13 points and 11 boards and the Beavers held off the Buffaloes on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Conference Tournament in Las Vegas.

Oregon State (24-6) will play the Stanford-cal winner in a semifinal tonight. OSU did not attempt a free throw until Beers completed a three-point play with 4:59 left in the fourth quarter to get within 5049. The Beavers made 14 at the stripe in the second overtime — 11 coming in the final minute — to seal the victory.