LAS VEGAS - In the second quarterfinal of the WAC Tournament, second-seeded NM State beat No. 7-seed Chicago State 67-53 Thursday to advance to the semifinals on Friday.
The Cougars jumped out to a 10-2 lead and led until the 3:13 mark of the first half, when the Aggies' Johnathon Wilkins made a layup to give NM State a 24-23 lead. In the second half, the Aggies outscored Chicago State 39-28 to go on to the win.
NM State shot 41 percent from the field, compared to the 33 percent of the Cougars. Chicago State out-rebounded the Aggies 44-37.
Ian Baker led the Aggies with 15 points, while Braxton Huggins added 14 points. Eli Chuha posted his WAC-leading 14th double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds.
Chicago State's Trayvon Palmer became the 13th member of the 1,000th point club on a pair of free throws at the 1:49 mark of the second half. He finished the game with a game-high 17 points, as did teammate Brian Green Jr.