Las Cruces, NM -- (Sports Network) - Herb Pope scored 18 points and pulled down 13 caroms to lead the New Mexico State Aggies to an 83-75 victory over the Nevada Wolf Pack in semifinal-round action of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament at the Pan American Center.

Justin Hawkins led the way for the third-seeded Aggies (21-13) with 23 points, while Hatila Passos contributed 10 points to go along with eight rebounds.

As for the second-seeded Wolf Pack (21-11), they were paced by Marcelus Kemp, who scored 19 points. Armon Johnson tallied 17 points, while JaVale McGee and Brandon Fields contributed 15 and 10 points, respectively.

New Mexico State shot 42.7 percent in the first 20 minutes of the contest, and led for the majority of the half, but Nevada would not go away and with just one second remaining before intermission Johnson nailed a three-point basket to give the Wolf Pack a slim 33-31 lead at the break.

The Aggies regain the lead early in the second stanza and never relinquished it, as they shot 47.2 percent in the half, and rode a 17-of-31 effort from the free throw line down the stretch to pull out the eight-point victory.

NMSU dominated the play on the glass, outrebounding Nevada by a whopping, 52-25 margin. The advantage on the boards led to a scoring edge in the paint, as the Aggies outscored the Wolf Pack down low, 36-14.

New Mexico State will now face fourth-seeded Boise State in the WAC title game on Saturday for the right to go to the NCAA Tournament.