New Mexico State coasts into fifth straight WAC final
The New Mexico State men’s basketball team’s chase for a thumb championship ring continues.
The Aggies cruised into the Western Athletic Conference final with a 78-64 victory over No. 5 seed Missouri-Kansas City at Orleans Arena on Friday.
New Mexico State (23-9) went up as many as 23 points in the second half. Ian Baker had a team-high 20 points, and Pascal Siakam scored 18 points with 11 rebounds for the Aggies.
The Aggies will play in their fifth straight WAC final. New Mexico State, the top seed, will face No. 2 seed Cal State Bakersfield at 8 p.m. today in a game televised on ESPNU.
■ CSU Bakersfield 72, Seattle 47 — Cal State Bakersfield dominated No. 3 Seattle to advance to its first WAC final. Kevin Mays scored a team-high 18 points for the Roadrunners.
Women’s semifinals
■ New Mexico State 58, Utah Valley 44 — The No. 1 seeded-Aggies returned to the WAC championship game for the second straight year after defeating the No. 4-seeded Wolverines.
Moriah Mack led the New Mexico State with 14 points, and Sasha Weber chipped in 12 points.
Patrice Toston scored a team-high 19 points for Utah Valley, which didn’t score its first field goal until the 10:45 mark of the first half.
■ Rio Grande Valley 73, CSU Bakersfield 72, 2 OT — Shawnte Goff scored a game-high 22 points for No. 2 seed Rio Grande Valley in the second double-overtime game in WAC tournament history.
