Pope, Hoetzel carry Aztecs past Boise 87-68 in MWC quarters

Mar 10, 2017, 09:01 pm

LAS VEGAS -- Malik Pope tied his career high with 22 points with 10 rebounds, Max Hoetzel had 21 points and San Diego State dominated the second half for an 87-68 win over Boise State on Thursday night in the Mountain West Conference tournament quarterfinals.

Hoetzel finished 7 of 8 from the field with five 3s and in two games against BSU went 10-14 from distance. Pope left the game late with a sprained left knee, the same knee that caused him to miss nine games earlier in the season.

The Aztecs (19-13), who face second-seeded Colorado State in the semifinals on Friday, won a quarterfinal game for the 10th straight year.

SDSU closed the first half with a 13-2 run to take a 42-37 over the third-seeded Broncos (19-11).

In the second half, the Aztecs made 15 of 24 shots (62.5 percent), including 4 of 6 from distance to finish 9 of 14, and had a 20-11 advantage on the boards. They ended up a plus 14 rebounding.

Paris Austin and Nick Duncan had 15 points apiece for the Broncos.