Louisiana Tech upsets No. 1 seed UNR, 78-73

Goodbye, NCAA Tournament. Hello, NIT.

For a team that needed to play with a sense of urgency, UNR played its way out of consideration for next week's tournament Friday by falling on its face in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference tournament at Orleans Arena.

The top-seeded Wolf Pack's 78-73 loss to No. 5 Louisiana Tech was about an inability to score when it mattered most. UNR shot 41 percent from the floor for the game and made only 31 percent of its tries in the second half. In addition, the Wolf Pack was 12 of 19 from the foul line.

Louisiana Tech (18-15) will meet No. 2 New Mexico State in the title game at 9 p.m. today. The Aggies advanced with a 92-81 win over Hawaii.

The Bulldogs shot 57 percent from 3-point range despite going 0-for-4 in the second half. That, along with an 18-for-22 showing at the foul line, helped seal UNR's NCAA fate and banish it to the National Invitation Tournament.

Because UNR won the WAC regular-season championship, it automatically earned a spot in the NIT.

"We deserve a bid" to the NCAAs, UNR coach David Carter said. "We won the conference. We won 16 in a row. Our body of work is good enough to go to the NCAA Tournament. But it's out of our hands. We'll just have to wait for Sunday and see what happens."

The Wolf Pack expected to be playing for the title tonight, and it briefly looked like it would.

A noncall on Deonte Burton after Burton was knocked to the floor on a drive to the basket with 13:35 to play appeared to wake up UNR.

"The talk this season with the coaches was you're supposed to protect the shooters," said Carter, who was assessed a technical foul for arguing the play. "That has to happen at both ends, and I thought Deonte got hit pretty hard."

Still, after the play, the Wolf Pack rallied from a 53-48 deficit to to up 55-53.

But, unlike Thursday, when Burton was elbowed in the face against San Jose State and responded with a big second half, he never got untracked offensively. He was 2 of 10 from the floor and totaled five points along with five assists and four turnovers.

This wasn't San Jose State, an offensively challenged team. Louisiana Tech played UNR tough in both prior meetings this season, and the Bulldogs matched up well athletically with the Wolf Pack. They also run a precise offense.

Louisiana Tech hit its first seven 3-point attempts and built a 15-point lead with 7:40 to go in the first half. Trevor Gaskins scored from virtually everywhere on the floor, with 15 of his game-high 21 points coming in the opening 20 minutes.

The Wolf Pack regrouped and, despite Olek Czyz going to the bench with foul trouble and Burton unable to find his shot early, pulled within 42-39 at halftime. Kevin Panzer came off the bench to hit two 3s, and Malik Story also knocked down two 3s and had 10 of his team-best 21 points in the first half.

UNR had just one field goal in the final 2½ minutes, and Louisiana Tech made its last five free throws in the final 39 seconds.

■ No. 2 New Mexico State 92, No. 6 Hawaii 81 -- The Aggies sprinted out to a 22-2 lead only to watch Hawaii pull within 61-60 with 10½ minutes left.

But New Mexico State guard Hernst Laroche was fouled after making a 3-point basket, and the four-point play allowed the Aggies to regain control, 65-60.

New Mexico State (25-9) placed five scorers in double figures led by Wendell McKines' 22 points. Shaquille Stokes led Hawaii (16-16) with 21 points.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow him on Twitter: @stevecarprj.