RENO, Nev.-The New Mexico State men’s basketball team defeated the No. 6 seed San Jose State, 90-69, Thursday, March 11, in the first round of the WAC Tournament, in the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev. The No. 3 seed Aggies improve to 20-11 and meet No. 2 seed Nevada, Friday, March 12 at 10 p.m. on ESPN2. With the victory, NM State has recorded the 24th 20-win season in school history.
Senior guard Jonathan Gibson scored a team-high 22 points on 4-for-7 shooting from the 3-point line while junior guard Jahmar Young contributed 16 points. Junior forward Wendell McKines posted a double-double with 15 points and a game-high 14 rebounds and sophomore forward Troy Gillenwater added 11 points.
The Aggies raced to a 12-4 lead only 3:08 into the game after a layup from sophomore center Hamidu Rahman, pair of Gibson 3-pointers and two McKines jumpers.
The Spartans tied it at 18-18 at 10:45 before the Aggies answered with five straight points. In the rally, McKines hit Gibson for a backdoor layup and then Gibson sank his third 3-pointer of the contest at the 9:26 mark to give the Aggies a 23-18 advantage.
San Jose State regained the lead 25-23 with 7:30 remaining and then the Aggies responded with 11 unanswered points. The Spartans didn’t score for nearly five minutes, which allowed the Aggies to take a nine-point lead.
Freshman forward Tyrone Watson was a spark off the bench with six first half points, including a steal and dunk at 3:46. Junior guard Gordo Castillo followed with a 3-pointer that gave NM State the 34-25 lead to cap off the 11-0 run.
The Aggies posted a 39-31 halftime lead behind 11 points from Gibson and eight from Young, who also added a game-high five assists. Additionally, McKines supplied six points and eight rebounds.
NM State extended its lead to 11 points, 55-44, with a 3-point play from Gillenwater with 13:59 to play. The play fueled a 10-0 Aggie run that forced San Jose State to call a timeout at the 12:26 mark.
The Aggies built a 19-point advantage, 67-48, following a pair of free throws from Rahman with 10:39 remaining and controlled the final minutes of the game.
Courtesy: Tim Barnett-Queen
