Utah State suffers first loss in Mountain West play

It was another action-packed weekend of Mountain West men’s basketball, and newcomer Grand Canyon scored the biggest victory of the conference season to date.

The Lopes (11-6, 4-2) got 20 points apiece from Brian Moore Jr. and Makaih Williams on Saturday en route to an 84-74 upset win over No. 23 Utah State (15-2, 6-1) before a raucous crowd at Global Credit Union Arena.

Grand Canyon was coming off a blowout 87-64 loss at New Mexico.

“We’ve had a really emotional couple days,” Lopes head coach Bryce Drew said. “I thought the start was just incredible. The Lord blessed us with the first shot going in from Caleb Shaw, and Nana (Owusu-Anane) brought some great intensity to start the game.

“(Utah State) is such a good team. They’re explosive. They press. The switching defense. Our guys made a lot of really good individual plays. They made a lot of good decisions. They were patient. And they played for 40 minutes. It was really fun to watch and be part of it.”

The Aggies shot just 26 of 69 (36 percent) from the floor and 7 of 28 (25 percent) from beyond the arc as their eight-game winning streak came to an end.

“I thought our defense really failed us,” Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun said. “(Grand Canyon) did a great job of playing physical on us.

“They spent a lot of money on this roster, so their size is real. I give them a ton of credit. That’s the biggest team we’ve faced all year. Those guys aren’t the best scorers, but they really do a tremendous job of walling up, crowding the floor. The size is a major factor.”

Later in the day, San Diego State (13-4, 7-0) coughed up a 13-point halftime lead but closed the game on a 6-0 run in the final minute to secure an 83-79 home win over New Mexico (14-4, 5-2).

The Aztecs sit alone atop the MWC standings.

Nevada (13-5, 5-2) continued its strong play with an 81-66 road rout of Air Force (3-15, 0-7).

Before the game, Air Force announced that head coach Joe Scott had been suspended indefinitely pending a player treatment investigation.

UNLV (9-8, 4-2) finished off a strong week by defeating San Jose State (6-12, 1-6) on the road, 76-62.

Fresno State (9-9, 3-4), the most improved team in the MWC, earned a 63-60 home win over Wyoming (11-7, 2-5).

On Friday night, Boise State (10-8, 2-5) snapped a four-game losing streak with a 79-73 home victory over Colorado State (11-7, 2-5).