LAS VEGAS — It’s been quite the year for Utah State men’s basketball — and it’s not over yet.

The Aggies capped their first Mountain West championship in program history with a 64-57 win over San Diego State in the tournament title game Saturday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack Center.

And while the accolades will (deservedly) go to Tournament Most Valuable Player Sam Merrill, who had 69 points in three games and 22 points on 6-of-16 shooting in the final, there are other reasons that this Utah State squad has been able to do something that unseen in Logan since the end of the Stew Morrill era in 2011.

This group of Aggies (28-6) are champions, no matter what happens after the NCAA selection committee reveals its 68-team field Sunday on in a prolonged announcement on CBS. And yes, it’s in large part because of Merrill and Mountain West freshman and defensive player of the year Neemias Queta, the unknown product from Portugal who came in and rewrote the Aggies’ defensive record book in just one season.

To do what Utah State has done this year, you have to have special players — two “dudes,” as head coach Craig Smith called them — and those include Merrill and Queta.

But you also have to have something else.

“What doesn’t get talked about enough is the rest of our guys,” Smith said. “They’re stars in their role.

“I think that’s the key ingredient to being really good. You better have a couple of dudes like these two guys — but you’d better have guys that are stars in their roles.”

Utah State’s “stars in their roles” showed up Saturday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack Center. There was former Brighton High standout Brock Miller, who bombed a pair of 3-pointers in the second half to jumpstart a sluggish start for the Aggies.

There was crafty veteran Quinn Taylor, the guy who knows everyone in the Mountain West and always has a name and a hand signal for each new player the coaches invent.

Go down the list: Diogo Brito, ace rebounder. Justin Bean, super sub.

And then there’s Abel Porter.

The 6-foot-3 guard from Davis High didn’t start out the year as a star. He didn’t even start out on scholarship in Smith’s first season.

But he worked. He proved every day in practice that he deserved a chance.

Porter started 13 of the 30 games of his sophomore regular season, then started every game in the tournament — including Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas.

When the Aggies needed him most, he was there.

Porter had 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting, including a pair of triples, to lead Utah State at the half, and he also helped feed Queta, who finished with 11 points and five rebounds as the Aggies took a 34-32 before the break.

Ticket Punched

Utah State holds off San Diego State for first Mountain West title

Merrill poured in 24 points, and Utah State used a 13-0 run to start the second half to overpower San Diego State, 64-57 for the Aggies’ first conference tournament title in seven years Saturday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack Center.

“Abel is a gamer,” Merrill said of his teammate since before his days at Bountiful. “I’ve been playing with Abel since eighth grade and I know exactly what kind of player he is.

“He’s hit a lot of big, big shots for us this year. The New Mexico game, hit a ton of big shots, at Boise.

“I could feel in pregame that he was locked in and ready … to be honest, it wasn’t a surprise to us because we know that Abel’s that type of player.”

There are a lot of things that get seen with Porter. The 4.9 points and 2.7 assists per game in the regular season. The game-winner at New Mexico, which immediately preceded a scholarship. The season-high 16 points at Boise State.

But then there’s more to Porter’s game. He finished third on the team with seven charges drawn, for example, and with the game on the line in the final moments, he dived for a loose ball that forced a key San Diego State turnover to help the Aggies survive.

“We know Abel’s a really good player for us,” Queta said. “He’s just always with a smile. He’s always trying to calm us down, whenever we’re nervous or anything like that.

“We’re just kept playing and he hit some big shots and did whatever he needed to, and helped us a lot.”

Waiting for Sunday

Could the Mountain West be a three-bid league after San Diego State's run to the title game?

The Aztecs did knock off Nevada, a team that has been ranked in the AP Top 25 all year, in the tournament's semifinals. And they boast 21 wins on the season, are a perennial league power, and finished fourth in the regular season (just behind third-seeded Fresno State).

But even head coach Brian Dutcher seemed bullish on his team's chances at a berth in the 68-team tournament.

"If we could’ve found a little more magic, we could’ve been a three-bid league," he said. "It didn’t happen. But I think anyone who runs into these two teams in the tournament should be very concerned."

Tickets on sale

Utah State will learn its selection destination Sunday around 4 p.m. MDT, and tickets will go on sale immediately thereafter.

Fans can purchase a limited number of tickets through the Aggies’ athletic department beginning Sunday at 5 p.m. MDT. Orders will be taken in-person at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum ticket office, over the phone at 1-888-USTATE-1, or online at UtahStateAggies.com.

Tickets are $100 per seat, depending on location, and each party is account is limited to four tickets.

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