Mountain West Tournament 2015 schedule and bracket: Air Force, UNLV advance to quarterfinals

The 2015 Mountain West Tournament started on Wednesday with the two first-round games. Despite the games not being marquee matchups, the quarterfinal field is now set and we had one technical upset with Air Force dispatching New Mexico. The other game saw UNLV blow Nevada off the court to set up a match with San Diego State.

The tournament will get much more interesting in the coming days, but here’s a brief recap of Wednesday’s action.

No. 9 Air Force 68, No. 8 New Mexico 61

New Mexico’s disappointing season ends in a whimper. After winning the Mountain West Tournament three straight years, the 15-16 Lobos won’t even have an NIT berth to look forward to. New Mexico actually held a slim lead at the six-minute mark in the second half, but Air Force finished the game on a 19-8 run to erase that deficit and then some.

Zach Kocur led the Falcons with 20 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while Hayden Graham grabbed seven rebounds. Air Force shot 48 percent from the field, compared to 41.7 percent for New Mexico. The Lobos were careless with the ball, committing 18 turnovers and allowing nine steals to Air Force. The Falcons move on to the quarterfinals and will try to crush Boise State’s dream season on Thursday.

No. 7 UNLV Runnin’ Rebels 67, No. 10 Nevada 46

UNLV has endured a topsy-turvy season, but the Rebels left nothing up to doubt in this game, holding the Wolfpack to 28.8 percent field goal shooting and forcing 20 turnovers. Christin Wood was the leader with 28 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. UNLV will face San Diego State on Thursday. Despite getting swept by the Aztecs in the regular season, UNLV lost by a combined margin of just eight points.

Thursday’s schedule (times Eastern)

No. 1 Boise State vs. No. 9 Air Force, Noon
No. 4 Wyoming vs. No. 5 Utah State, 5:30 p.m.
No. 2 San Diego State vs. No. 7 UNLV, 9 p.m.
No. 3 Colorado State vs. No. 6 Fresno State, 11:30 p.m.