The semifinal games on Friday were polar opposites. In the first semifinal the top seeded Utah State Aggies annihilated a depleted Louisiana Tech team winning 85-55. Louisiana Tech lost big man Magnum Rolle inside the first couple minutes of the game to an injured ankle. From there on out it was all Utah State as the Aggies held a comfortable 46-24 halftime lead. The big cushion allowed USU head coach Stew Morrill to rest his players as only Tyler Newbold played more than 30 minutes (31) while the rest of the starters played no more than 25 minutes each. Utah State shot 58.8 percent for the game and hit 11-of-22 three point attempts en route to the championship game.
The second semifinal was a semifinal game for the ages. Nevada jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead which would be their largest of the game. The Aggies answered and led by two, 42-40 at halftime. In the second half the Aggies opened up an eight point lead with just over 13 minutes left to play but five quick points from Nevada coming off an and-one and a technical foul put the Wolf Pack right back in it and the game was tight the rest of the way. The two teams traded the lead six times in the final three and a half minutes and there were two ties and five lead changes in the final 1:43 which was capped off by a Jahmar Young jumper from 15 feet out with 3.8 seconds left to win the game.
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