The game was tied or the lead changed hands 13 times in the first half alone. After a see-saw battle for the first 10 minutes, the Aggies broke away and built a seven-point lead with just under six minutes left in the half.

Jaycee Carroll, who finished with a hard 20 points, knocked down a three-pointer and Gary Wilkinson and Pooh Williams added buckets in the Aggies' 7-0 run to give them the lead.

Garner, who had scored just 39 points all year long, scored eight straight points with the last two buckets being three-pointers, to give the Broncos the lead for good. Bauscher also added two three-pointers in what was Boise's 16-4 run to end the half to lead 42-37.

After Boise State built the lead to 10, the Aggies got it down to eight on a layup by DuCharme. The Broncos scored four straight points to get the lead into double digits, where it stayed for almost 16 minutes when the Aggies cut the lead to eight with 1:48 left and seven with 1:07 left on a three-point by Kris Clark.

Utah State (24-10) wouldn't get any closer.

"I thought we played with a greater sense of urgency tonight than they did," Boise State coach Greg Graham said. "We came out like they did at our place and set the tone early and made them come after us ... I think that was the key that ran through the game. We set the tone early."

Behind Carroll's 20, DuCharme added 17 points and seven rebounds, while Tyler Newbold added 16 points and Wilkinson added 12.

"We were playing catch-up all night long," Morrill said. "They were aggressive, they were on edge, and I think they were motivated by the game we played in Boise and we just didn't play very well. We've been playing awfully well and we've had a good run. We just had a tough night tonight."

The Broncos shot 50.9 percent from the floor, while Utah State shot 49.1 percent.

Both teams made 28 baskets and 11 three-pointers, but the Broncos were 21-of-26 from the foul line while Utah State hit 11-of-12.

Utah State's National Invitation Tournament bid will be extended Sunday evening following the NCAA Selection Show.

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E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com