 New Mexico State wins WAC championshipThe New Mexico State men's basketball team won the 2010 WAC Tournament Championship after a 69-63 victory over Utah State, Saturday, March 13, at the Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev. The Aggies earned an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament and are making their 18th appearance in school history. The Aggies improved to 22-11 and are going to the Big Dance for the first time since 2007 and in head coach Marvin Menzies ' tenure. Junior guard Jahmar Young (6'5''-G) was named WAC Tournament Most Valuable Player after a team-high 19 points. Sophomore forward Troy Gillenwater (6'8''-F) also earned all-tournament team honors following a 15-point showing. Senior guard Jonathan Gibson (6'2''-G) was also in double-figures with 14 points. Utah State scored first and the Aggies tied the game five times before taking its first lead of the contest, 19-18, on a fast break layup from freshman forward Tyrone Watson at the 6:23 mark. On the Aggies' next possession, Gillenwater hit a turnaround jumper at 5:33 that started a span of six straight points from the Boston native. The Aggies finished an 11-3 run with 4:05 to play with a Gillenwater layup to give NM State a 25-21 advantage. Utah State regained a 26-25 lead before Young hit NM State's first 3-pointer of the game in transition with 1:35 before the break for a 28-26 NM State halftime lead. Gillenwater had a team-high eight points while Young added seven. Both Gibson and junior forward Wendell McKines (6'6''-F) supplied four points in the first 20 minutes of action. Utah State jumped to a 37-32 lead in the second half but the Aggies responded with six consecutive points and a jumper from Watson gave the Aggies the advantage again, 38-37, at the 14:50 mark. The Aggies tied the game at 44-44 with a Gibson jumper at 9:54 and then at 53-53 after a steal and a dunk from sophomore center Hamidu Rahman (7'0''-C) at 6:29. Gibson made a jump shot on the next possession with 5:19 left to give NM State a 55-53 lead and the Aggies didn't trail again. Utah State evened the score at 55-55 with 4:45 to play and then Gillenwater sank a 3-pointer before a floater from Young gave the Aggies a five-point lead, 60-55, at the 3:56 mark. Young pushed the advantage to 63-57 with a free throw at 2:26 for NM State. The Aggies held on and sophomore guard Hernst Laroche (6'1''-G) sealed the win with a pair of free throws with 14 seconds to play to give NM State its second WAC Tournament title in school history. Courtesy of N.Mexico St. WAC Tournament Final: N.Mexico St. - Utah St. 69-63 WAC Tournament Semifinals: Utah St. - Louisiana Tech 85-55 N.Mexico St. - Nevada 80-79 WAC All-Tournament MVP: Jahmar Young of New Mexico State WAC All-Tournament Team Luke Babbitt (6'9''-F-89) of Nevada Troy Gillenwater of New Mexico State Jared Quayle (6'1''-G-85) of Utah State Tai Wesley (6'7''-F-86) of Utah State Jahmar Young of New Mexico State
All-WAC 1st Team Luke Babbitt of Nevada Jahmar Young of New Mexico State Adrian Oliver (6'4''-G-88) of San Jose State Jared Quayle of Utah State Tai Wesley of Utah State All-WAC 2nd Team Paul George (6'8''-G/F-90) of Fresno State Kyle Gibson (6'5''-G-87) of Louisiana Tech Magnum Rolle (6'11''-C/F-86) of Louisiana Tech Armon Johnson (6'3''-G-89) of Nevada Jonathan Gibson of New Mexico State All-WAC Honorable Mention Daequon Montreal (6'7''-F) of Boise State Sylvester Seay (6'10''-F-85) of Fresno State Roderick Flemings (6'7''-G) of Hawaii Mac Hopson (6'2''-G) of Idaho Wendell McKines of New Mexico State WAC All-Defensive Team Marvin Jefferson (6'9''-C-86) of Idaho Kyle Gibson of Louisiana Tech Magnum Rolle of Louisiana Tech Dario Hunt (6'8''-F-89) of Nevada Pooh Williams (6'3''-G/F-88) of Utah State WAC All-Newcomer Team Daequon Montreal of Boise State Greg Smith (6'10''-C-91) of Fresno State Deandre Brown (5'11''-G-88) of Louisiana Tech Nate Bendall (6'9''-F-87) of Utah State Brian Green (6'1''-G-88) of Utah State All-WAC Player of the Year: Luke Babbitt of Nevada All-WAC Freshman of the Year: Greg Smith of Fresno State All-WAC Coach of the Year: Stew Morrill of Utah State | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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