NMSU Seeks Automatic Berth
LAS VEGAS ? It started out as college basketball?s version of a quarter horse race at Ruidoso Downs. But then it quickly became the Kentucky Derby.
New Mexico State came out of the starting gate sprinting, leaving Hawaii in the dust with a 22-2 start in their Western Athletic Conference semifinal Friday night at the Orleans Arena. The problem was the race wasn?t 440 yards. It was more like a mile and a quarter, and the second-seeded Aggies almost faded in the stretch. But Marvin Menzies? team had enough left in reserve to post a 92-81 victory and earn a spot in tonight?s 10 p.m. championship game against surprising No. 5 seed Louisiana Tech (18-15), which beat top-seeded Nevada 78-73 Friday.
?Wow, tough game,? Menzies said. ?That took a lot out of us. Fortunately, I have a lot of warriors, no pun intended.?
The Aggies (25-9) were nearly caught with 10:34 to play as Hauns Brereton hit from the left side to pull Hawaii within 61-60. But Hernst Laroche came down, hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and was foolishly fouled by Jeremiah Ostrowski. He made the free throw, culminated a rare four-point play and put NMSU up, 65-60.
?I just wanted to be aggressive,? said Laroche, who finished with 18 points and six assists. ?I?m used to taking that shot in practice and I was open, so I went for it and made it.?
Menzies said he had no problem with his senior guard hoisting up a long shot in a close game.
?It was a good shot in the flow of our offense,? Menzies said. ?I give my guys a lot of freedom and when it comes to our seniors, I trust them to make the right decisions.?
From there, Wendell McKines took over. He scored eight of New Mexico State?s next 11 points, trying to put a little distance between his team and the Warriors. Hawaii had no answer for that as New Mexico State eventually got the lead back to double digits with 1:33 left, 85-75, and coasted to the finish line.
?That?s what you?ve got to do at winning time, get stops and make plays,? said McKines, who had six assists, as well as six turnovers, to go along with his game-high 22 points. ?We know there?s no tomorrow, and we don?t want this thing to end.?
McKines had plenty of help as New Mexico State placed five players in double figures. Along with Laroche?s 18, Tshilidzi Nephawe had 15 points, Tyrone Watson 13 and Daniel Mullings 12, along with 10 rebounds.
?It was great to see all those guys contributing,? Menzies said. ?At this time of the year, you take the help wherever you can get it, and we got a lot of help from a lot of guys (Friday).?
The Aggies started out as if everything was on the line, playing with high energy from the opening tip. The Aggies attacked the basket, swarmed Hawaii at the other end and in less than five minutes, were ahead 17-0.
Twice Hawaii coach Gib Arnold called timeout to try and slow NMSU?s momentum. Hawaii finally scored its first points at the 15:11 mark on a Vander Joaquim layin, but the onslaught continued as Nephawe?s three-point play increased the New Mexico State lead to 22-2.
?We always like to throw the first punch,? Menzies said. ?We knew they might be a little fragile after we handled them at our place a couple of weeks ago, and we thought we could make a statement early.?
Those two timeouts would turn out to be critical. But at 22-2, nobody was thinking about Hawaii extending the game. It was strictly about survival at that point.
Menzies had other concerns. He knew his team wasn?t going to be able to keep Hawaii down like that over 40 minutes. But he wanted the Aggies to maintain some form of offensive continuity.
?I was concerned about keeping them composed,? Menzies said. ?But that?s where our seniors stepped up. It?s one thing for me to tell them to settle down. But when it?s one of your teammates, you?re going to listen a little closer.?
To its credit, Hawaii, which was without one of its leading scorers in Zane Johnson who had mononucleosis and did not make the trip to Las Vegas, never quit. Shaquille Stokes and Joaquim led the Warriors? comeback as they kept whittling away at the New Mexico State lead, pulling within 42-36 late in the first half to get the deficit to a manageable number before trailing 47-38 at halftime.
But despite the effort from Stokes, who scored 21 points, and Joaquim, who finished with 17, Hawaii could never make it all the way back. The Aggies held firm in spite of 16 turnovers and some spotty free throw shooting. New Mexico State kept the Warriors at arm?s length and finished well to advance to tonight?s final and a chance to get back to the NCAA Tournament by winning, and earning, the conference?s automatic bid.
LAS VEGAS ? It started out as college basketball?s version of a quarter horse race at Ruidoso Downs. But then it quickly became the Kentucky Derby.
New Mexico State came out of the starting gate sprinting, leaving Hawaii in the dust with a 22-2 start in their Western Athletic Conference semifinal Friday night at the Orleans Arena. The problem was the race wasn?t 440 yards. It was more like a mile and a quarter, and the second-seeded Aggies almost faded in the stretch. But Marvin Menzies? team had enough left in reserve to post a 92-81 victory and earn a spot in tonight?s 10 p.m. championship game against surprising No. 5 seed Louisiana Tech (18-15), which beat top-seeded Nevada 78-73 Friday.
?Wow, tough game,? Menzies said. ?That took a lot out of us. Fortunately, I have a lot of warriors, no pun intended.?
The Aggies (25-9) were nearly caught with 10:34 to play as Hauns Brereton hit from the left side to pull Hawaii within 61-60. But Hernst Laroche came down, hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key and was foolishly fouled by Jeremiah Ostrowski. He made the free throw, culminated a rare four-point play and put NMSU up, 65-60.
?I just wanted to be aggressive,? said Laroche, who finished with 18 points and six assists. ?I?m used to taking that shot in practice and I was open, so I went for it and made it.?
Menzies said he had no problem with his senior guard hoisting up a long shot in a close game.
?It was a good shot in the flow of our offense,? Menzies said. ?I give my guys a lot of freedom and when it comes to our seniors, I trust them to make the right decisions.?
From there, Wendell McKines took over. He scored eight of New Mexico State?s next 11 points, trying to put a little distance between his team and the Warriors. Hawaii had no answer for that as New Mexico State eventually got the lead back to double digits with 1:33 left, 85-75, and coasted to the finish line.
?That?s what you?ve got to do at winning time, get stops and make plays,? said McKines, who had six assists, as well as six turnovers, to go along with his game-high 22 points. ?We know there?s no tomorrow, and we don?t want this thing to end.?
McKines had plenty of help as New Mexico State placed five players in double figures. Along with Laroche?s 18, Tshilidzi Nephawe had 15 points, Tyrone Watson 13 and Daniel Mullings 12, along with 10 rebounds.
?It was great to see all those guys contributing,? Menzies said. ?At this time of the year, you take the help wherever you can get it, and we got a lot of help from a lot of guys (Friday).?
The Aggies started out as if everything was on the line, playing with high energy from the opening tip. The Aggies attacked the basket, swarmed Hawaii at the other end and in less than five minutes, were ahead 17-0.
Twice Hawaii coach Gib Arnold called timeout to try and slow NMSU?s momentum. Hawaii finally scored its first points at the 15:11 mark on a Vander Joaquim layin, but the onslaught continued as Nephawe?s three-point play increased the New Mexico State lead to 22-2.
?We always like to throw the first punch,? Menzies said. ?We knew they might be a little fragile after we handled them at our place a couple of weeks ago, and we thought we could make a statement early.?
Those two timeouts would turn out to be critical. But at 22-2, nobody was thinking about Hawaii extending the game. It was strictly about survival at that point.
Menzies had other concerns. He knew his team wasn?t going to be able to keep Hawaii down like that over 40 minutes. But he wanted the Aggies to maintain some form of offensive continuity.
?I was concerned about keeping them composed,? Menzies said. ?But that?s where our seniors stepped up. It?s one thing for me to tell them to settle down. But when it?s one of your teammates, you?re going to listen a little closer.?
To its credit, Hawaii, which was without one of its leading scorers in Zane Johnson who had mononucleosis and did not make the trip to Las Vegas, never quit. Shaquille Stokes and Joaquim led the Warriors? comeback as they kept whittling away at the New Mexico State lead, pulling within 42-36 late in the first half to get the deficit to a manageable number before trailing 47-38 at halftime.
But despite the effort from Stokes, who scored 21 points, and Joaquim, who finished with 17, Hawaii could never make it all the way back. The Aggies held firm in spite of 16 turnovers and some spotty free throw shooting. New Mexico State kept the Warriors at arm?s length and finished well to advance to tonight?s final and a chance to get back to the NCAA Tournament by winning, and earning, the conference?s automatic bid.
