New Mexico State rides balance to final

Pop quiz, Hotshot. Since 2008, which school has played in the most Western Athletic Conference tournament championship games?

If you said New Mexico State, consider yourself a true WAC hoops trivia buff.

Thanks to a strong effort from their supporting cast Friday, the No. 3-seeded Aggies advanced to their fourth WAC final in the past six seasons after a 74-65 victory over seventh-seeded Texas State at Orleans Arena.

Sim Bhullar, a 7-foot-5-inch redshirt freshman, finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots as New Mexico State (23-10) won for the 17th time in its past 19 games.

The Aggies face No. 4 seed Texas-Arlington at 8 p.m. today in the title game. The Mavericks (19-12) advanced with a 69-53 win over Texas-San Antonio.

“That first one, that triple-overtime loss to Boise State, changed my life. I was in bed for three days. I was a wreck,” sixth-year Aggies coach Marvin Menzies said of the 107-102 loss in the 2008 final. “You realize those opportunities don’t come often, so when you get them, you have to make sure you are totally prepared and do everything you can as a coach to prepare your team.”

A day after No. 1 seed Louisiana Tech and No. 2 Denver lost, the Aggies overcame an off night from leading scorers Daniel Mullings and Bandja Sy to inch closer to a second straight WAC tournament title. Renaldo Dixon scored 12 of his 13 points in the first half, and reserve Remi Barry added 11 points as New Mexico State’s bench outscored its counterparts from Texas State, 22-9.

“They stepped up big,” said Mullings, had 12 points. “They were vital for us.”

New Mexico State led by as many as 16 points in the second half before going nearly six minutes without a field goal. The Bobcats (12-22) closed to within 57-52 on a pull-up jumper by Deonte Jones, but reserve Kevin Aronis made a 3-pointer with 6:48 left to put New Mexico State up 60-52. Bhullar’s huge follow dunk with 1:35 left gave the Aggies a 70-58 lead.

“Somebody needs to have a clinic on how to guard 8-foot guys,” Texas State coach Doug Davalos said of Bhullar. “I don’t know what else we could have done.”

Joel Wright, who scored 32 points in Thursday’s upset of Denver, had 17 points and 11 rebounds before fouling out. Jones added 16 as the Bobcats were held to 34.5 percent shooting.

“The reason why they are so good is because they have the size of an NBA lineup,” Davalos said. “They have incredible length, and that bothers shots.”

The Aggies, whose starting lineup features the 6-8 Sy and Dixon at 6-9, to go along with Bhullar, pounded the ball inside in the first half. New Mexico State had 22 points in the paint and shot 53.6 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes.

Texas State stayed close for the first 13 minutes and trailed 24-22, but a 13-3 run while Wright was on the bench with two fouls helped the Aggies grab a 41-32 halftime lead.

In the other semifinal, Karol Gruszecki hit five 3-pointers and totaled 19 points in Texas-Arlington’s win over ninth-seeded Texas-San Antonio (10-22).

The Mavericks, in their only season in the WAC before heading to the Sun Belt, led by as many as 21 points in the second half. Jamel Outler added 13 points and Kevin Butler 10.

Jeromie Hill led the Roadrunners with 17 points and added six rebounds.

Contact reporter David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow him on Twitter: @DavidSchoenLVRJ.