Las Cruces, NM -- (Sports Network) - Justin Hawkins racked up 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead the third-seeded New Mexico State Aggies to a 73-53 victory over the sixth-seeded Idaho Vandals in the quarterfinal round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.

Fred Peete and Jonathan Gibson both tallied 12 points for New Mexico State (20-13), which will take on second-seeded Nevada in Friday's semifinal round. Jahmar Young added 11 points for the Aggies, who won this tournament last season for the first time in program history.

Darin Nagle scored 12 points off the bench in the loss for Idaho (8-21).

New Mexico State shot only 35.5 percent from the floor in the first half, but the team hit 6-of-10 three-pointers en route to a 36-25 advantage at intermission.

The Aggies nailed 56.5 percent of their shots from the field over the final 20 minutes to seal the victory. They finished the game with a 15-3 edge in points from the foul line, helping them overcome 18 turnovers.

New Mexico State is the host team of this year's WAC Tournament, and the squad finished in a four-way tie for first place in the league standings during the regular season with a 12-4 mark.

The Aggies have now won 13 of their 15 all-time meetings with the Vandals.