Mar 10, 2007, 17:30 GMT
Las Cruces, NM - Back in the title game for the second straight year, the Utah State Aggies go for the Western Athletic Conference Tournament title tonight as they challenge the New Mexico State Aggies at the Pan American Center.
USU, which lost to Nevada in overtime in last year's championship game, first defeated Hawaii in the quarterfinals on Thursday and then slipped past top- seeded and 10th-ranked Nevada last night in a 79-77 decision.
As for the hometown favorites from Las Cruces, NMSU topped Louisiana Tech in the quarterfinals two nights ago and then took care of business versus the Boise State Broncos rather easily, 88-69, last night. With the victory over BSU, the local Aggies ran their record in the Pan American Center this season to an incredible 18-1, the only loss coming at the hands of Fresno State by a single basket in conference play.
With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, USU is ahead by a count of 28-23 after the squads split their two regular season meetings. New Mexico State captured the most recent contest played right here on this same floor on February 22 with a 76-73 decision.
The Aggies trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half on Friday night, but the team refused to give up and got some timely three-point baskets from Durrall Peterson down the stretch in the two-point victory against Nevada. Peterson finished the contest 4-of-7 beyond the arc for his 13 points, adding six rebounds and four assists, while the league's leading scorer Jaycee Carroll accounted for a team-best 24 points as he converted all seven of his free-throw attempts. Chaz Spicer chipped in 20 points as he matched Carroll's shooting from the floor (7-of-18) on the night. Carroll, who is currently showing averages of 21.2 ppg and 6.3 rpg to pace USU, has beaten up on New Mexico State in previous meetings with a career-high 44 points and 10 rebounds during the first week of February in Logan and then 30 points and seven boards in this building later in the month. Spicer and Stephen DuCharme are chipping in with 11.5 and 10.1 ppg, respectively, this season.
Elijah Ingram tallied a game-high 25 points, leading four starters in double figures, as the New Mexico State Aggies crushed Boise State by 19 points in the semifinals on Friday night. Justin Hawkins added 17 points and six boards for second-seeded New Mexico State, while Ted Knauber and Tyrone Nelson accounted for 12 and 10 points, respectively. Hatila Passos, who recorded just six points, registered a game-high 11 rebounds for the Aggies as they shot a sizzling 10-of-13 behind the three-point line and nearly outrebounded the Broncos 2-to-1 (46-24) to help overcome 21 turnovers on the night. Hawkins, the team's leading scorer and rebounder this season with 15.6 ppg and 6.8 rpg, is now only fractions of a rebound ahead of Nelson (6.7 rpg) who is currently one of three active players putting up double-digit scoring with his 11.6 ppg. However, Nelson can't always be counted on for those sorts of numbers, especially after he tallied a mere four points in 24 minutes versus USU in the first meeting this season.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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