Iti & New Mexico State Return
to WAC Championship Game
www.nmstatesports.com
15 Mar 2008
LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (AP) - Freshman Herb Pope set career marks with 18 points and 13 rebounds as high-flying New Mexico State returned to the WAC tournament championship game, beating Nevada 83-75 on Friday night.
Justin Hawkins scored 23 and the third-seeded Aggies (21-13), fueled by a noisy homecourt advantage, advanced to meet No. 4 Boise State for the title. The Broncos beat Utah State in the other semifinal.
Pope scored six straight points in a key late run, stretching New Mexico State's lead to 67-61 with 1:52 remaining.
It started with Pope scoring a tip-in after a miss by Jahmar Young, then Fred Peete found the lanky freshman for a short jumper. After Kemp made two free throws, Pope was left unprotected for a riveting dunk that energized the hometown crowd.
New Mexico State won the WAC tourney last year in Las Cruces, ending an eight-year NCAA tournament drought. Martin Iti (Sydney) had 5 points and 8 boards in the win for NMSU. Full Story
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