Senior guard Marvelle Harris scored 18 points to help second-seeded Fresno State beat top-seeded San Diego State 68-63 in the championship game of the Mountain West Conference Tournament on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
Junior forward Karachi Edo scored nine points for Fresno State (25-9), which handed the Aztecs one of their two conference losses. Senior guard Julien Lewis had eight points and seven rebounds.
Sophomore forward Malik Pope had 19 points and 11 rebounds for San Diego State (25-9). Senior forward Winston Shepard contributed 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
San Diego State jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes. Fresno State briefly tied the score, but San Diego State quickly reclaimed the lead and maintained a slight advantage until the final minute when 3-pointers by junior guard Paul Watson and Harris gave Fresno State a 39-36 lead at the break.
The Aztecs went up 52-46 on a jumper by freshman forward Zylan Cheatham, but the Bulldogs mounted an 11-2 run to take a 57-54 lead on a 3-pointer by junior guard Jahmel Taylor.
The teams exchanged the lead until Lewis made a 3-pointer with 1:39 remaining to put Fresno State up 64-62.
