San Diego State 79, Colorado State 69: Jamaal Franklin scored 19 points as the No. 21 Aztecs advanced to their fourth straight Mountain West tournament final.

The two-time defending tournament champions will meet second-seeded New Mexico in Saturday's championship game.

Franklin, who hit the game-winning shot in the Aztecs’ quarterfinal victory over Boise State, made 3 of 4 3-point attempts.

Chase Tapley finished with 17 points and James Rahon added 15 for the top-seed Aztecs (26-6), who trailed 39-38 at the half.

After Colorado State pulled within 50-48 on Dorian Green’s 3-pointer with 16:17 remaining, the Aztecs responded with an 11-2 run to take control.

The Rams (20-11), who fell behind by as many as 12 points late, cut the deficit to 70-63 with 3:11 left, but couldn’t draw closer.

Green scored 20 points for Colorado State, which would have likely secured a spot in the 68-team NCAA tournament with a victory. Jesse Carr finished with 17 points and Dwight Smith added 12.

The Aztecs have won their last eight conference tournament games, the longest win streak in MWC history.

GAME NOTEBOOK: San Diego State leads the series 18-3 and has won 10 of the last 11 meetings. ... Colorado State fell to 8-12 all-time in the MWC tournament. … The Aztecs are 5-0 as the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. … San Diego State has won nine of its last 10 games at the Thomas & Mack Center.