Thomas Ranson/Nevada Appeal News ServiceNevada's Luke Babbitt swings a pass around Louisiana Tech's James Loe in the first half of the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
RENO " Mark Fox looked around Lawlor Events Center early in Friday night's Western Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal game and wasn't sure he recognized the surroundings.
"In the beginning of the game I'm not sure we even knew what planet we were on," the Nevada Wolf Pack coach said.
The Wolf Pack, thanks to 69 percent shooting in the second half, recovered from their slow start to roll over the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, 77-68, setting up a WAC title-game match up with the Utah State Aggies tonight at 7 p.m. (ESPN2). Utah State, which lost to the Wolf Pack at Lawlor Events Center two weeks ago, also recovered from a sluggish first half to beat the New Mexico State Aggies, 71-70, in the other WAC semifinal.
"We couldn't have started any slower," said Fox, whose team improved to 21-11. "We were so unattached mentally."
Louisiana Tech, which beat the Wolf Pack in Reno in early February, jumped out to a 21-9 lead 10 minutes into the game behind 14 points from 6-foot-11 center Magnum Rolle. Rolle, though, would score just 10 more points the rest of the game to finish with 24.
"Kyle Gibson (25 points) was terrific and Magnum Rolle was outstanding," Fox said. "We didn't have a lot of answers for them. We had some but not many."
The Pack had two big answers in Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson. Johnson scored 24 points and had six assists and six rebounds and Babbitt, who had 30 in the Pack's quarterfinal victory over San Jose State, finished with 23 points and six boards.
"Luke Babbitt was definitely an emphasis in this game for us," Louisiana Tech coach Kerry Rupp said. "Everyone had to be aware of where he was. The defensive effort was there but he made some tough shots."
Fox was just glad his team discovered what planet it was on before it was too late.
"You know, sometimes the bus has to completely run us over before we start to fight back," Fox said. "But this team has fought back six or seven times."
The Wolf Pack didn't take its first lead of the game until three minutes into the second half. Babbitt drove the lane for a bucket, drew the foul and hit both free throws for a 39-37 Pack advantage.
Louisiana Tech would trail for the remainder of the game.
"At halftime I just told myself that this might be my last game," Wolf Pack senior Lyndale Burleson said. "I just wanted to go out there and leave it all on the floor."
Burleson, averaging just 3.4 points a game, drained two crucial free throws down the stretch. The first one gave the Pack a 63-56 lead with 6:10 to play and the second put the Pack up 68-57 with just over four minutes to go.
"They went to a zone and when they did that they left a lot of open gaps," said Burleson, who also hit a 3-pointer late in the first half and finished with nine points. "I was glad I was able to knock them down."
Burleson's timely shots were needed because the Bulldogs refused to go away midway through the second half. Gibson hit a 3-pointer to cut the Pack lead to 42-41 with 15:25 to go. The 6-foot-5 junior drilled another 3-pointer to slice the Pack's lead to 50-48 with 11 minutes to go. Gibson later scored inside to cut the deficit to 58-56 with seven minutes to go.
It was Johnson, though, who kept Gibson and the Bulldogs fighting an uphill battle. The sophomore guard, who recovered nicely from a knee bruise suffered Thursday night, scored inside twice and once on a 15-foot fadeaway jumper in a span of two minutes to give the Pack a 60-56 lead with 6:45 to go.
Louisiana Tech, thanks to Olu Ashaolu with seven, had 17 offensive rebounds. The Bulldogs also outrebounded the Pack, 36-27.
"We shot 69 percent in the second half," Fox said. "There weren't that many misses to go get."
The Wolf Pack and Utah State split two games this season, with each team winning on its own floor. The last time the two teams met in the WAC championship game was in 2006 in Reno with the Wolf Pack winning, 70-63, in overtime.
"I really want to play Nevada," Utah State center Gary Wilkinson said. "It's just that they beat us once. I don't know if its revenge. I think it's just a pride thing. They are a great team and I just think it would be fun to play them."
The Pack, which lost in the WAC semifinals the past two seasons, both at New Mexico State, is just happy to be one step away from its fifth NCAA Tournament berth in the last six seasons.
"We're in the championship game," Fox said. "There's nothing else I have to say."