Friday, March 14th, 10:30 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Pan American Center (13,071) -- Las Cruces, New Mexico. Television: ESPN Regional. Home Record: NMSU 15-3, Nevada 13-2. Away Record: NMSU 5-8, Nevada 7-8. Neutral Record: NMSU 0-2, Nevada 1-0. Conference Record: NMSU 12-4, Nevada 12-4. Series Record: New Mexico State leads, 14-11.

GAME NOTES: The New Mexico State Aggies continue their run towards repeating as champions of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament as they hit the floor at the Pan American Center Tonight versus the Nevada Wolf Pack in semifinal-round action of the 25th annual event. Last night the Aggies, who defeated Utah State for the title a year ago by a scant two points, took down the Idaho Vandals rather easily in a 73-53 final. With the win, third-seeded NMSU moved to an impressive 5-1 in the tournament since coming over from the Sun Belt Conference a few years back. As for the second-seeded Wolf Pack, a team that won the crown in both 2004 and 2006, they knocked out Fresno State in the quarterfinals on Thursday with a 64-57 decision. Nevada won both regular-season meetings between these two teams, an 87-78 victory in this building back on January 24th and a 98-85 triumph in Reno a month later. As a result, NMSU's advantage in the all-time series is down to 14-11. The winner of this contest will play for the tournament title on Saturday against the winner of the Utah State/Boise State affair.

New Mexico State shot just 35.5 percent from the field in the first half in Thursday's meeting with Idaho, yet the squad still held a double-digit lead at the break and cruised to the 20-point win in Las Cruces. Justin Hawkins made it look easy both inside and out as he posted a double-double with 26 points and 13 rebounds. He also converted 3-of-4 behind the three-point line for good measure. Fred Peete and Jonathan Gibson both added 12 points and combined for 10 assists, while Jahmar Young tacked on 11 points off the bench. An all- conference performer this season, Hawkins leads the team in both scoring and rebounding with averages of 17.9 points and 7.3 rebounds per outing, adding 72 assists along the way to force defenders to think about his every move. While Hawkins is the go-to guy in the paint, Gibson (12.3 ppg) does most of his damage out on the perimeter where he has knocked down 42.5 percent of his three-point tries.

While Marcelus Kemp was coming up empty on the scoreboard in the first half in Thursday's meeting with Fresno State, it was up to JaVale McGee to keep the Wolf Pack in charge. Eventually the powerful forward ended up with 22 points and 10 rebounds, both team-highs, in the win over the Bulldogs. Kemp ended up with 12 points on just 4-of-12 shooting from the floor, adding nine boards as well, while Demarshay Johnson tacked on 11 points of his own in the triumph. Nevada dominated at the defensive end of the floor, limiting FSU to a mere 33.3 percent shooting from the field and 6-of-23 beyond the arc. An all- conference performer yet again this year, Kemp is one of the top scorers in the league with 19.9 ppg and is second on his team with both 101 assists and five and a half rebounds per game. A great addition to the program, McGee steps in with 14.2 ppg and 7.5 rpg, the latter number placing him among the WAC's best.

It is tough to beat a team three times in the same season, but as long as the Wolf Pack bring the defense tonight they can get the job done. However, don't underestimate the pride of the Aggies who not only want to repeat as tournament champs, but also want to put on a good show for the hometown fans as well.

Predicted Outcome

New Mexico State 88, Nevada 83