Nevada defeats Colorado State for Mountain West crown

LAS VEGAS – Jordan Caroline had 23 points and 10 rebounds as Nevada beat Colorado State 79-71 on Saturday in the Mountain West Conference championship game to earn its first NCAA Tournament berth in 10 years.

The top-seeded Wolf Pack (28-6) claimed the league’s automatic bid and took home their first conference tournament title since 2006, when they were in the Western Athletic Conference. They received an at-large invitation to the NCAAs the following season.

After squandering a 16-point lead and allowing the Rams to tie the game midway through the second half, Nevada used an 11-3 run during a five-minute stretch to build another cushion while No. 2 seed Colorado State (23-11) missed eight consecutive field goal attempts.

The Rams pulled to 66-65 when J.D. Paige hit a 3-pointer with 2:32 left, but they never managed to tie the score again.

Marcus Marshall added 21 points and was 12 of 15 from the free throw line down the stretch for Nevada, which went to the line 35 times to 11 for Colorado State.

Gian Clavell scored 30 points for Colorado State, which was seeking its first Mountain West title since 2003. Prentiss Nixon added 23 points, and Emmanuel Omogbo had 10.

It marked the eighth time the top two seeds met for the Mountain West title. The second seed won the previous seven matchups.