New Mexico State advances to WAC final

LAS VEGAS -- Ian Baker scored 20 points, Pascal Siakam added 18 with 11 rebounds and top-seeded New Mexico State cruised to a 78-64 win over No. 5 seed Missouri-Kansas City in the semifinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday night.

The Aggies (23-9) face No. 2 seed Cal State-Bakersfield (23-8) in the championship game Saturday.

Jalyn Pennie hit three 3-pointers and finished with 13 points, while Braxton Huggins added 11 points for New Mexico State.

A pair of free throws by Martez Harrison gave UMKC (12-19) a one-point lead with 9:36 left in the first half, but New Mexico State used a 13-0 run over the next three-plus minutes to make it 33-21 and led by double figures the rest of the way.

The Kangaroos made just eight field goals and shot 35 percent in the first half and trailed 42-26 at the break.

Lavell Boyd led UMKC with 23 points.