WAC Tournament: New Mexico State wins tournament final, pushes Utah State onto bubble

Utah State was led by Jared Quayle, who scored 25 points. Nate Bendall added 16, and Tai Wesley had 13 points and 12 rebounds. New Mexico State’s Troy Gillenwater had another strong game off the bench, scoring 15.

Nevada’s Luke Babbitt scored 33 points, including two clutch free throws to give the Wolf Pack a 79-78 lead late, but teammate Armon Johnson came up empty on Nevada’s last shot, silencing the partisan crowd at Reno’s Lawlor Events Center.

New Mexico State’s Young was ice cold for much of the night, finishing 4-of-15 from the floor and scoring 15 points. But he came up big when the Aggies needed him. Four of Young’s 15 came in the final minute of the game with a pair of free throws and the game-winning bucket. The Aggies were led by Troy Gillenwater’s 21 points; fellow big man Wendell McKines added 16.

Everything went Utah State’s way on Friday night as the top-seeded Aggies trounced No. 4 seed Louisiana Tech, 85-55.

An 8-0 run and a 14-4 run in the first half helped Utah State jump out to a 22-point lead at the break. A stifling defense and hot-shooting offense were too much for the Bulldogs to overcome, and an early injury to 6’11” post Magnum Rolle all but sealed LaTech’s fate.

Friday’s semifinals will pit No. 1 Utah State against No. 4 Louisiana Tech and No. 2 Nevada against No. 3 New Mexico State.

Reno, NV (Sports Network) - Jamel Guyton scored a career-high 31 points and pulled down 11 rebounds, as the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs held off the Fresno State Bulldogs for a 74-66 win in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at the Lawlor Events Center.

Magnum Rolle netted 12 points and contributed nine rebounds for fourth-seeded Louisiana Tech (23-9), which will face top-seeded Utah State in Friday’s semifinals. Olu Ashaolu added 11 points and eight rebounds in the win.

Reno, NV (Sports Network) - Tai Wesley, one of three players to score 18 points for Utah State, collected 10 rebounds as the Aggies defeated Boise State, 84-60, in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at the Lawlor Events Center.

Wesley, who shot 9-of-15 from the floor for the top-seeded Aggies (26-6), added four assists, three blocks and a couple of steals as well. Brian Green and Pooh Williams both matched Wesley in the scoring column and Jared Quayle posted 13 points to go along with his game-high 13 boards as the Aggies logged their 16th win in a row.

Take whatever you know about the WAC from football season - namely that the competition is weak, the level of play is lacking, Mark May knows very little about how it really works, and Boise State is supremely dominant - replace Boise State with Utah State, and you have a pretty good idea of how WAC men’s basketball works.

There is Utah State and then everyone else.