LAS VEGAS - The maddeningly inconsistent Colorado State Rams picked the perfect night for a breakout performance.

The sixth-seeded Rams, playing loose and confident, upset No. 3 seed San Diego State 69-64 in the Mountain West Conference tournament quarterfinals on Thursday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

With the win, the Rams successfully saved their coach's job for at least another game.

The beleaguered Dale Layer, who has one year left on his contract and who's said to be on the hot seat, will lead them in the semifinals tonight against hometown Nevada-Las Vegas (9:30 p.m. MST, CSTV).

San Diego State, meanwhile, could have seen its NCAA Tournament chances disappear, much like Air Force's might have earlier in the day.

San Diego State entered the game on the bubble at 21-9 and fell to 21-10.

And then there's CSU, which improved to 17-12. Could this be another out-of-the-clear-blue-sky run to the NCAA Tournament for the Rams? In this same building in 2003, as a No. 6 seed, same as this year, CSU made a remarkable run to the MWC tournament title and an improbable NCAA Tournament berth.

That year, the Rams had to beat host Nevada-Las Vegas in the title game. This year, CSU will have to face the team with the huge home advantage in tonight's semifinals.

At 17-12, CSU has no NCAA shot unless it wins this tournament. But the way the Rams played Thursday night, that's not outside the realm of possibility.

The game came down to the final minute, CSU leading 67-62 after star forward Jason Smith relentlessly got rebounds twice after his own misses. He finally converted after the second rebound and was fouled. He completed the three-point play with 59.6 seconds left, and CSU led by five.

CSU then used a steal by Cory Lewis and a block by Stuart Creason to hang on for dear life down the stretch. Creason, who has played in the shadow of Smith his entire CSU career, broke out with 19 points as Smith spent much of the game in foul trouble.

With SDSU cold from the floor, CSU led by as many as 10 points in the first half before the Aztecs reeled in the Rams to trail by only one, 31-30, at the half.

The Rams went into the break with their slim lead despite only six first-half points from Smith, who picked up his third foul four minutes before halftime after sitting for a while following his second.

But CSU hung in, getting nice first-half performances from Creason and others. Creason scored nine first-half points, and CSU outrebounded the Aztecs 18-12 in the first half.

San Diego State took its first lead moments into the second half and led by as many as six in the second half. But the Rams stood up to the challenge and now will be a major underdog once again when they play in front of thousands of red-clad, leather-lunged Rebels fans.

As SDSU's disappointed fans filed out of the arena, a handful of CSU fans chanted, "Two more games!"

Hey, stranger things have happened.

holtzr@RockyMountainNews.com