New Mexico State Rallies to Defeat Nevada

Antoine Hubbard scored 31 points, including 13 of New Mexico State’s last 18, rallying the Aggies for a 76-66 win over Nevada Saturday in Las Cruces, N.M., in a Big West basketball game.

New Mexico State (18-8, 12-4) blew a 43-28 halftime lead, falling behind 60-58 after Nevada’s Jimmy Carroll hit a three-pointer with 4:31 to play.

Hubbard took control from there, hitting two free throws and consecutive three-pointers to give the Aggies a 66-60 lead with 2:51 left. The Wolf Pack (18-8, 12-4) got no closer than five points after that.

With the win to close the regular season, New Mexico State created a three-way tie for first place in the Big West’s Eastern Division. After tie-breakers, Nevada gets the Eastern Division’s top seed in the Big West tournament next week. The Aggies are seeded third, while Utah State is seeded second.

Utah State 72, North Texas 53--Maurice Spillers and Marcus Saxon each scored 16 points, leading Utah State to victory in Denton, Texas.

BIG SKY CONFERENCE

Idaho State 73, Cal State Northridge 67--Northridge turned the ball over a season-high 27 times in a Big Sky Conference game before 1,067 at Matador Gym.

Derrick Higgins led Northridge (12-14, 8-8) with 25 points, including 19 as the Matadors made a valiant second-half comeback that got them within three several times. Idaho State (14-12, 9-7) led by as many as 14 in the first half and dominated the game inside, with forward Rob Preston scoring 26 points and center Nate Green adding 19.