TIM BOOTH
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — Even though there were still 10 minutes to go, Hernst Laroche’s 3-pointer while being hacked saved New Mexico State from a massive collapse.
More importantly, the Aggies’ hopes for a second NCAA tournament bid in the last three seasons are still alive.
Wendall McKines led five New Mexico State players in double figures with 22 points, Laroche’s rare four-point play stemmed Hawaii’s rally from a 20-point deficit, and the Aggies held on for a 92-81 win over the Rainbow Warriors in the Western Athletic Conference semifinals on Friday night.
Second-seeded New Mexico State (25-9) will face No. 5 seed Louisiana Tech in the finals on Saturday night.
“We’ve been working since August. We expected to get here,” McKines said.
New Mexico State didn’t take the easy route to the finals, despite jumping out to 17-0 and 22-2 leads in the opening moments. It was an efficient and dominant 6-minute run that appeared to be plenty against the Warriors, who needed a late rally to beat Idaho in the quarterfinals and were playing without second-leading scorer Zane Johnson, who didn’t even make the trip to Las Vegas for the tournament.
Instead, the Aggies were continually pushed for most of the second half and needed Laroche’s momentum-turning shot when Hawaii was poised to potentially surge in front.
“We cut that sucker to one, I thought that was a great sign,” Hawaii coach Gib Arnold said. “That kid hit the 3 and we foul them, it went to five really quick. That was not a good sign.”
Laroche finished 18 points, while Tshilidzi Nephawe added 15 points, Tyrone Watson scored 13 and Daniel Mullings had 12 points and 10 rebounds for New Mexico State.
Shaquille Stokes led No. 6-seeded Hawaii (16-16) with 21 points and Vander Joaquim added 17. It was a gutty effort by the Warriors, who had lost five straight heading into the conference tournament, including a 42-point rout at the hands of the Aggies in Las Cruces on Feb. 23.
“For us to beat them the way that we did at our house the last time we played them … and then to come out and play with this kind of passion speaks volumes to where (Arnold) has taken that program,” NMSU coach Marvin Menzies said.
Down 47-38 at the break, Hawaii hit its first three shots of the second half and cut the Aggies’ lead to 48-44 with 18:22 left, the closest the Warriors had been since the opening seconds of the game.
NMSU stretched the lead back out to nine, but the Warriors would not go away. Joaquim’s three-point play with 12:16 left cut the deficit again to four, and after Bandja Sy scored in the lane for the Aggies, Garrett Jefferson scored on a drive to the basket while being fouled. His free throw cut the Aggies’ lead to 61-58 with 11:38 remaining, and moments later the lead was down to a point as Hauns Brereton hit a baseline jumper.
But Hawaii’s Jeremiah Ostrowski made a critical mistake at the defensive end, going too aggressive on his close out and hitting Laroche as he released a 3-pointer. The basket was good, and the rare four-point play pushed the lead back to 65-60 with 10:10 left. There was still plenty of time for Hawaii to rally, but much of its momentum was zapped.
“I just wanted to be aggressive and try and make a play. He fouled me, and it was a great play,” Laroche said. “I was taking those shots in practice. I feel like every time, I can make those shots.”
The Aggies’ lead grew back to eight, only to see Hawaii make a final surge and cut it to 76-73 with 4:40 left on Trevor Wiseman’s rebound basket. Joaquim was called for his fourth foul at the other end, and Watson hit two free throws. After Nephawe blocked Stokes’ drive, Mullings scored in the lane to give the Aggies an 80-73 lead with 3:42 left, and the Warriors never got closer than six.
The tight finish was the complete opposite of the Aggies’ blistering start that could not have gone any better. They hit 9 of their first 16 shot attempts and forced five turnovers before Hawaii even got on the board when Joaquim scored underneath with 15:11 left to make the score 17-2. The Aggies’ lead grew to 22-2 when Nephawe converted a three-point play with 13:58 left in the half.
Hawaii got the deficit down to single-digits by halftime, but the hole was too much to overcome.
“To go up and battle against that team and have a chance to win there at the end was something that I am pleased with,” Arnold said. “Whenever the bleeding stopped, I thought we started playing pretty good.”
NEW MEXICO ST. 92, HAWAII 81
HAWAII (16-16)
Thomas 4-7 0-1 8, Brereton 5-9 0-0 10, Joaquim 6-9 5-5 17, Stokes 7-16 4-4 21, Ostrowski 3-5 0-0 6, Jefferson 3-5 1-1 7, Rozitis 1-1 0-0 2, Minns 0-0 0-0 0, Wiseman 4-6 2-2 10. Totals 33-58 12-13 81.
NEW MEXICO ST. (25-9)
McKines 9-16 1-1 22, Watson 5-9 3-6 13, Rahman 1-3 1-2 3, Laroche 5-10 5-5 18, Mullings 5-12 2-4 12, Sy 3-6 2-2 9, Nephawe 6-8 3-4 15. Totals 34-64 17-24 92.
Halftime_New Mexico St. 47-38. 3-Point Goals_Hawaii 3-10 (Stokes 3-7, Ostrowski 0-1, Brereton 0-2), New Mexico St. 7-17 (Laroche 3-5, McKines 3-6, Sy 1-4, Mullings 0-2). Fouled Out_Stokes. Rebounds_Hawaii 22 (Joaquim 5), New Mexico St. 36 (Mullings 10). Assists_Hawaii 20 (Ostrowski 13), New Mexico St. 21 (Laroche, McKines 6). Total Fouls_Hawaii 20, New Mexico St. 12. A_NA.
