(No. 9) Wyoming 70,  (No. 8) UNLV 73

Traveling support in Wyoming gold made their presence known with an exceptional turnout in the opener of the championships. 

The first three of the game was splashed by Runnin’ Rebels senior forward Kimani Hamilton.

Freshman forward Tyrin Jones went coast to coast with a block following it with a layup off the break. 

“Tyrin Jones led the conference at shot-blocking. He had six this afternoon. It’s the first time a guy at UNLV has led the league in Mountain West conference in shot-blocking since the ’14-’15 season,” UNLV head coach Josh Pastner said postgame. 

Jones raised the roof with a two-hand slam, which was followed by a three by MW leader in PPG at 20.6, junior guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn. The consecutive scores not only brought the outnumbered home fans to life, but also rejuvenated the UNLV offense.

UNLV leading 44-31 was the score at half as Gibbs-Lawhorn finished the half with 15 points, as Wyoming’s defensive adjustments held the conference leader in scoring to a goose egg in the second half. 

“I feel like it’s very important for everyone to know that we have a bunch of players on this team that can play basketball too, that are good at basketball too,” said Gibbs-Lawhorn. 

A 6-0 Cowboy run is how the second half began. Wyoming cut the lead to 44-37 off an alley oop dunk by freshman forward Gavin Gores. 

The halftime adjustments by Sundance Wicks, head coach of the Cowboys were notable. 

Freshman guard Naz Meyer found himself at the charity stripe frequently as he went 7-10 from the stripe ending the game with 14 points. 

UNLV clapped back with a 6-0 run of their own with around 10 left to play. “Rebels” chants rumbled around the building as Issac Williamson knocked down a three making it 55-48 for the hosts. 

Wicks rallied his troops as his side responded with a 10-0 run taking the lead 56-55 off a second chance layup by Damrion Dennis. 

Trading points on both ends, with 2:45 left, Walter Brown hit a clutch corner and-one three, 66-64 UNLV. 

“The way Walter Brown was playing, he made big shots, had ten total rebounds,” said Pastner.  

Then, consecutive dunks followed, one by Hamilton the other by Gores keeping it tied at 68 with 50 seconds remaining. 

Wicks called a timeout as a play was drawn up and executed by Gores laying it in, 70-68 Wyoming.

With 20 ticks remaining and down two facing an upset and a first round dismissal on their home court, Kimani Hamilton played hero. 

“My teammates [were] telling me to kill, like Dra just told me. He really told me just take it over, and I just what my teammate told me to,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton drew the and-one layup and converted his free throw, reclaiming the lead for UNLV 71-70 as the Rebels would not give it back avoiding the upset scare. 

(No. 12) Air Force 45,  (No. 5) Nevada 80

Thirteen unanswered points by Nevada is how the second of four on the first day in Vegas began.

“I thought our start was really good. We started 12-0 at Reno and come out here and start 13-0. Really put them in a tough spot going into halftime is a credit to the effort of the guys,” said Nevada head coach Steve Alford. 

Air Force enters the championships 0-20 in conference play, with an Interim Head Coach in Jon Jordan steering an already totaled bus. 

Nevada guard and San Diego native, Kaleb Lowrey, opened the scoring with a shot in the paint. The guard is a San Diego native as he went on to tally five points, four assists and four boards. 

A scoring drought of 8 minutes and 20 seconds was suffered by Air Force. It was quenched by junior forward Caleb Walker who cut the lead down to 28 points, 32-6 Nevada. 

Only four minutes remained in the first half.

A difference of 29 points is what separated the two at halftime, 39-10 Wolf Pack. 

Corey Camper Jr. was sent to the line to shoot three as he made all three getting his side to 50 points over the Falcons standing at 12 points. 

“I definitely feel like we’re clicking at the right time. Not even just on the offensive end, but on the defensive end as well,” Camper Jr. said. 

Air Force shot themselves out of this one as they shot 2-20 from three and 16-55 from the field. 

Casual dunks by Armotrading and center Jeriah Coleman exemplified how the Nevada team played as if it was an open-run or LA Fitness pickup.

This one did not have to be played, Nevada wins, 80-45.

(No. 10) Fresno State 63,  (No. 7) Colorado State 67 – Butler lights up the Vegas strip sky

Fresno State leading scorer Jake Heidbreder got the scoring started right away, notching eight of the Bulldogs’ first ten points to ignite the offense early.

A freshman-to-freshman lob from DeShawn Gory to Gasper Kocevar extended Fresno State’s early lead to 12-7.

Colorado State head coach Ali Farokmanesh countered with hockey-esque substitutions, using fresh legs to turn defense into offense and cut the deficit to three at the under-four media timeout.

Only three Bulldogs (Heidbreder, Kocevar, and Bastien Rieber) accounted for the team’s first 18 points until senior forward Cameron Faas joined the scoring with a floater from the free-throw line. Rams junior guard Josh Pascarelli later tied the game at 22 with a corner triple.

Enter: Gasper Kocevar.

From the three-minute mark on, the Slovenian center became a one-man wrecking crew, slamming dunks and finishing layups at will. Kocevar scored 14 points in the half, shooting a perfect 7-for-7 and paying homage to fellow countryman Luka Doncic (#77) while stealing the first-half spotlight from Heidbreder.

Fresno State carried a 32-27 lead into halftime despite Colorado State shooting just 31 percent from the field compared to the Bulldogs’ 52 percent.

Gory opened the second half strong, draining two three-pointers to give Fresno State its largest lead of the night, 38-30 with 18 minutes remaining.

Rams forward Carey Booth battled inside throughout the night, throwing down multiple dunks to keep Colorado State within reach.

Heidbreder soon reasserted himself, scoring at all three levels: a layup, a three, and two free throws in consecutive possessions to bring his total to 19 with 13:13 left.

Colorado State then seized momentum off back-to-back turnovers. Pascarelli finished a fastbreak layup before senior guard Jevin Muniz buried a transition three, giving the Rams their first lead since early in the first half.

Rams sophomore sniper Jase Butler soon caught fire. Trading baskets with Gory for several possessions, Butler eventually gained the upper hand, burying two straight threes to give Colorado State a 52-49 lead with 8:55 remaining.

Butler wasn’t finished.

He knocked down his fifth three-pointer to extend the Rams’ lead to 57-51 heading into the under-eight timeout.

Heidbreder answered with a three and a crafty floater, pushing his total to a game-high 26 points and cutting the Bulldogs’ deficit to three.

Faas later buried a massive wing triple to tie the game at 61 with 3:26 to play.

But Butler had the final word.

The sophomore guard drained his sixth three of the night, celebrating with the bench as Colorado State reclaimed a three-point lead with 2:24 remaining.

Butler credited the men he went to battle with in setting him up for success.

“Honestly, I got a lot of my threes off kickouts from offensive rebounds from my teammates,” Butler said. “We do a lot of drills in practice just trying [to] respace and get open, and my teammates found me. Credit to them. I just had the confidence to make the open shot.”

After missed opportunities from Gory down the stretch, and Butler’s first two-point bucket with just over one minute remaining, Fresno State was forced to foul. 

Booth split a pair of free throws to extend the lead to 67-63, and Fresno State’s final shot fell short, ending their season at 13-18.

The victorious Rams will face your San Diego State Aztecs in the quarterfinal on Thursday at 6 p.m. Farokmanesh complimented Head Coach Brian Dutcher ahead of the contest.

“The résumé that Coach Dutcher has, it really is second to none,” Farokmanesh said. “So I know our guys are looking forward to it, it’s going to be an absolute challenge. It’s going to be a dogfight, and I know San Diego State is going to have a ton of fans here, so it will be a packed building tomorrow night.”

(No. 11) San Jose State 84,  (No. 6) Boise State 74 – Late night energy ignites Spartan chemistry, shocking the Thomas & Mack crowd

Colby Garland, the second-leading scorer in the Mountain West at 20.3 points per game, converted a floater to get San Jose State on the board before Javan Buchanan answered with a layup on the ensuing possession.

“Obviously it feels great. Anytime, like Coach Miles said, that we win in the postseason is great. Exciting. We know how much work we put in this summer and the fall,” Garland said.

Forward Andrew Meadow extended the Boise State lead to five with a smooth step-back three heading into the first media timeout, putting the Broncos up 11-6. Meadow maintained his calm presence early, quietly scoring 10 of Boise State’s first 17 points.

The Spartans responded quickly as Jermaine Washington drilled his first two three-point attempts, providing a much-needed spark.

“I think it [threes] was really big, but starting with my defense, trying to pressure the ball, get energy for the team,” Washington said. “I feel like when I’m good on defense, we get electrocuted and we spark for offense.”

San Jose State continued its surge from beyond the arc as Garland and Japhet Moupadele each connected from deep to even the score at 19 with 11 minutes remaining in the first half.

Washington later knocked down two free throws to give the Spartans their first lead of the night, igniting the blue and gold moments before Adrian Myers finished a lob from Washington.

Senior forward Sadraque NgaNga added to the momentum with back-to-back putback layups, extending the underdog Spartans’ lead to 29-23 with 7:13 remaining in the half.

After a defensive stretch where both teams went more than two minutes without scoring, Buchanan gave Boise State the lead back with a gliding putback layup with 3:18 to play.

The Spartans had the final word before halftime. Drew Fielder dribbled the ball off his leg, allowing Washington to collect the loose ball and swing it to Garland, who buried a buzzer-beating three from the top of the key to give San Jose State a 41-39 lead at the break.

Moupadele carried the momentum into the second half, attacking the rim and finishing through contact to push the Spartans’ lead to four.

Shortly after, San Jose State head coach Tim Miles was assessed a technical foul after arguing a call. UCLA transfer Dylan Andrews converted both free throws for Boise State before Fielder powered his way inside for a layup to tie the game at 43.

San Jose State quickly regained control. Following a Jermaine Washington layup, NgaNga delivered a thunderous block that led to a three-point play by Garland on the other end.

Adrian Myers then buried a corner three, capping a 7-0 Spartan run in just over a minute.

NgaNga kept the surge alive with his second three-pointer of the night, stretching San Jose State’s lead to 11 with nine minutes remaining.

Garland later surpassed the 20-point mark with a pair of free throws that pushed the score to 78-65.

He added two more free throws in the closing moments to seal an 84-74 San Jose State upset, a result that highlighted the Spartans’ resilience.

“Anytime you win in the postseason, you’re excited,” Miles said. “It’s a shot in the arm. These guys winning in the Mountain West, I think, is a special treat.”

Reporting for KCR Sports, Joaquin Serrato and Leo Woronov.