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No. 23 BYU can reach Mountain West final vs. Wyoming

Mar 9, 2007 - 7:16 PM Wyoming (17-14) at No. 23 BYU 9:00 pm EST

LAS VEGAS (Ticker) -- One way or another, Brigham Young has had a say in the outcome of most Mountain West Conference tournaments.

The 23rd-ranked Cougars can win for the 12th time in 13 games and reserve a place in the conference championship game whey they face Wyoming in Friday's semifinals.

BYU won the conference title in 2001, one year after falling to Nevada-Las Vegas in the final. The Cougars were knocked out of the tournament by the eventual champion in each of the next four seasons before falling in the quarterfinals to Utah in 2006.

The No. 1 seed, BYU snapped a three-game losing streak in tournament play with Thursday's 77-64 quarterfinal victory over TCU. Trent Plaisted scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Mike Rose added 16 for the Cougars.

Wyoming never has won the conference tournament and is seeded fifth after a 7-9 mark against MWC foes. The Cowboys reached last year's title game before losing to San Diego State in overtime.

After dropping six of its last nine regular-season games, Wyoming posted a 67-62 triumph over Air Force on Thursday. Brad Jones scored 29 points and Brandon Ewing had 19 to become the first Cowboys player to top 1,000 before the end of his sophomore season.

BYU swept the regular-season series against Wyoming, including a 77-73 victory in their most recent showdown February 6. Keena Young scored 29 points on 10-of-14 shooting for the Cougars.

The winner faces either Colorado State or UNLV on Saturday.