LAS VEGAS (AP) — Drew Gordon had 19 points and 13 rebounds for New Mexico, which raced back from deficits of 12-0 and 17-4 to stun No. 20 UNLV 72-67 in the Runnin’ Rebels’ home arena in the Mountain West Conference semifinals Friday night.
The Lobos (26-6) will play No. 18 San Diego State in the championship game Saturday night. The Lobos and Aztecs shared the regular-season title, with SDSU earning the top seed on a tiebreaker. SDSU will be trying for its third straight tournament title and automatic NCAA berth.
Tony Snell added 15 points and Demetrius Walker 12 for the Lobos, who outrebounded UNLV 41-25 and took advantage of the Runnin’ Rebels shooting just 35.6 percent overall.
New Mexico had lost to UNLV (26-8) the previous seven times they’d met in conference tournament games.
