RENO, Nev. (AP) - Jahmar Young drove the lane for a basket with 3.8 seconds on the clock to give New Mexico State a wild 80-79 victory over Nevada in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference tournament Friday night.
Troy Gillenwater had 21 points, Wendell McKines 16, Young 15 and Jonathan Gibson 10 for the Aggies (21-11). They led 62-54 with 13 minutes remaining before holding on down the stretch to advance to Saturday night's title game against top-seeded Utah State (27-6), which won its 17th straight Friday against Louisiana Tech 85-55.
Luke Babbitt scored a career-high 33 points for the Wolf Pack (20-12), including a pair of free throws that put Nevada ahead 79-78 with 45 seconds left.
Young missed a jumper but tied up Brandon Fields on the rebound for a jump ball, and the possession arrow gave the Aggies the ball with 31 seconds to go. Holding the ball for a final shot, Young drove around the top of the key and made contact with Babbitt in the lane but got his jumper to fall.
Nevada's Armon Johnson, who finished with 13 points and 10 assists, missed about a 30-foot desperation shot as time expired.
McKines had a double-double with 10 rebounds and Gillenwater added eight boards for the Aggies, who outrebounded Nevada 34-31. The Wolf Pack outshot the Aggies 50 percent to 44 percent but had 14 turnovers to NMSU's 10.
Babbitt, a 6-foot-9 sophomore named the WAC's player of the year, made 10 of 19 from the field and all 10 of his free throws. As a team, Nevada made 16 of 18 from the line to help fuel a comeback bid.
NMSU went ahead 62-54 when Gibson lobbed a pass to McKines, who slammed it home. The Aggies still led 71-66 with less than 7 minutes left when Babbitt fouled Young beyond the arc and he made all three free throws.
Ray Kraemer answered with a 3-pointer from the left baseline, but McKines put back his own miss to make it 73-69 at 6:09.
Babbitt made a pair of free throws, then on the next two possessions threaded passes through traffic in the lane to freshman center Marko Cukic, who made both layups to give Nevada its first lead since midway through the first half, 75-74 with 3 minutes left.
Gibson made a layup, but Shaw hit a jumper to put Nevada back in front 77-76 at 1:20. Young made two free throws, but Babbitt matched those for a 79-78 lead before Young's final heroics of a frantic game full of emotions and a technical foul on each team.
NMSU opened the second half with a 9-3 run capped by Gibson's 3-pointer for a 51-43 lead. He later made another to push it to 58-51.
Kraemer's 3-pointer cut it to 58-54, but Joey Shaw was whistled for a technical. Young made one of the free throws and the next possession lobbed a pass to Gillenwater who slammed it home for a 62-54 lead with 13:04 left in the game.
Twenty seconds later, Johnson hit a jump shot in the lane, was fouled and Tyrone Watson was called for a technical. Babbitt made both the technical shots, then Johnson converted his free throw for a five-point swing that pulled Nevada within 62-59.
McKines' jumper in the paint put NMSU up 66-61, but Johnson made the same shot on the other end. Then Babbitt made a pair of free throws to pull within 66-65 with 8 minutes left in the game as tempers flared again under the basket before the final stretch.
