Nevada loses, will play in WAC tourney on Wednesday

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - Troy Gillenwater scored 21 points to lead New Mexico State to a 77-68 victory over Nevada on Saturday night.

The Aggies (15-16, 9-7) secured the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye for next week's Western Athletic Conference tournament in Las Vegas.

Gordo Castillo had a double-double, with 15 points on 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range, and 10 rebounds for New Mexico State. Christian Kabongo and Tshilidzi Nephawe each scored 10 points.

Dario Hunt and Deonte Burton led Nevada (12-18, 8-8) with 14 points each and Derrell Conner and Kevin Panzer each had 10 points.

The Aggies finished the game shooting 54 percent from the floor, outrebounded Nevada 35-25, and finished 7 for 12 from 3-point range and 16 for 24 from the free-throw line.

The Wolf Pack led 36-35 at halftime but the Aggies outscored Nevada 12-6 to open the second half.

Nevada answered with a 12-2 run to take its biggest lead to that point at 55-49 with 11:41 to play. The Wolf Pack led by as many as seven with 10:42 left, but New Mexico State took advantage of a 14-for-19 effort at the free throw line in the second half, helping the Aggies chip away at the Nevada lead and regain the lead on a pair of Kabongo free throws with 5:54 left.