LOGAN, Utah (AP) — Koby McEwen scored 18 points and Sam Merrill scored 15 and Utah State defeated UNLV 79-67 on Saturday night to secure the seventh seed in next week’s Mountain West Conference Tournament.

With the win, Utah State (15-16, 8-10) finished ahead of No. 8-seed UNLV (19-12, 8-10) which now has dropped five straight. The Aggies face No. 10 seed Colorado State in Las Vegas on Wednesday, and the Rebels will take on ninth-seeded Air Force.

A pair of Alex Dargenton free throws with 5:32 before halftime gave the Aggies a 23-22 lead which started a 21-7 run for a 42-30 lead at intermission.

The Rebels responded out of the break and made 7 of 8 shots and reduced their deficit to 48-46 in the first five minutes of the second half. Utah State blunted the rally, this time with a 24-7 run in the next seven minutes and the Rebels were done.

Brandon McCoy led UNLV with 18 points and Tervell Beck scored 17.