Colorado State is leaving Las Vegas empty-handed this year.

The No. 7 seed Rams’ title defense at the Mountain West Tournament ended in the quarterfinals with a 71-62 loss to No. 2 seed San Diego State.

After holding on for a win over Fresno State the previous night, Ali Farokhmanesh’s team came out hot and led by as many as five points early in the game, but a disastrous end to the first half doomed the Rams.

Junior guard Brandon Rechsteiner headed to the free-throw line with a little over three minutes left in the first half and a chance to tie the game at 28 points apiece, but he split the pair of freebies and CSU didn’t score the rest of the half, allowing San Diego State to go on an 11-0 run to close the half and take a 39-27 lead into the locker room.

The Rams outscored the Aztecs 35-32 in the second half, but the closest they got was within seven points as SDSU dominated inside with a 42-8 edge in points in the paint. CSU shot just 33% from the field as a team and turned the ball over 16 times against a typically stout Aztecs defense.

Rechsteiner was one of three CSU players in double figures, leading the team with 16 points.

An at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament is out of the question, even though the Rams are 21-12 on the season, but they could still play in a postseason tournament like the NIT or the College Basketball Crown, should they accept an invite.