BYU Moves Past SDSU

BYU 63, SDSU 54-----------------------------

LAS VEGAS (Ticker) -- On its way to the championship game, Brigham Young had to attend to some unfinished business. Lee Cummard scored 20 points and Trent Plaisted added 19 for the 23rd-ranked Cougars en route to a 63-54 victory over San Diego State in a Mountain West Conference semifinal game on Friday.

The win moved BYU (27-6) into the conference finals for the second straight season and helped it avenge one of its two regular-season conference losses. By virtue of this win, the Cougars advanced to their fourth title game in the nine-year existence of the Mountain West Conference tournament. In addition to a January loss to Nevada-Las Vegas, BYU lost, 70-69, on February 23 to San Diego State (20-12).

Following a jumper from Lorrenzo Wade that moved the Aztecs to within 36-35 with 13:10 remaining, Plaisted and Cummard combined to scored the final 12 points of a 17-7 run that gave the Cougars their biggest lead of the game at 53-42 with 4:17 left in the game. San Diego State made one final push to get to within six points at 58-52 with 31 seconds remaining, but Cummard, Sam Burgess and Ben Murdock hit five of BYU's final six free throws down the stretch to preserve the win. BYU, the worst foul-shooting team in the conference at 65 percent, hit 76 percent (16-of-21) of its attempts in this contests. Ryan Amoroso led the Aztecs with 18 points.