DENVER -- Whether he's swishing a 3, ripping down a rebound or rejecting a shot into the second row, Danny Granger sure is fun to watch. If he keeps playing like this, Granger and his New Mexico teammates will be doing their thing much deeper into March.
Granger had 22 points and 14 rebounds Friday night to lift the Lobos to a 77-67 victory over San Diego State in the semifinals of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
Next for the second-seeded Lobos is a meeting Saturday against top-seeded Utah for the title. The game will feature the league's two best players -- Granger and Utah center Andrew Bogut.
If the Lobos (25-6) win, they'll get an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and won't have to sweat out "Selection Sunday," in hopes the committee will overlook their 298th-ranked strength of schedule.
Then again, they may have already proven enough, having won eight straight and 11 of 12 -- a stretch that coincided with Granger's return from a knee injury that required minor surgery in January.
Indeed, he is just that important, and the Lobos needed everything he could offer against the sixth-seeded Aztecs (11-18), who upset Air Force the night previous and were at their pesky best all night long in this one, too.
Marcus Slaughter (23 points) and Brandon Heath (22 points) had their second straight brilliant games for coach Steve Fisher's team. At one point, Heath scored 12 straight points for the Aztecs to cut their deficit to 56-52 with 7:50 left.
The Lobos built it back up to double digits behind 3-pointers from Troy DeVries (15 points) and Alfred Neale (17 points) and a layup by Granger with about four minutes left, and the Aztecs never threatened again.
Before that, though, Granger had his whole game on display.
Early, he spotted up and made a 3 to cap a run of three straight 3-point shots the Lobos hit en route to a 9-0 lead.
There was a steal and a nifty fullcourt dribble through two defenders for a layup. There was a pretty little bounce pass under the bucket to David Chiotti for a slam. There was an emphatic rejection of Trimaine Davis' shot into the stands, and another of Heath's shot that flew all the way into the backcourt and caused a shot-clock violation.
Moments after the Heath rejection, Granger thundered home a dunk and got fouled. The three-point play with 11:54 left gave the Lobos a 52-40 lead.
Granger finished with three assists, five blocks and a steal to go with all those points and rebounds; he's the first New Mexico player to amass 50 assists, steals and blocks in a season.
Next, he'll have his hands full with Bogut and the Utes, who defeated UNLV 73-67 earlier Friday to advance to the final.
Part of New Mexico's current winning streak includes a 65-54 win over the Utes last month in Albuquerque. Both Granger and Bogut finished with 15 points in that game.
