National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
New Mexico St. 77, Idaho 55
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, March 15, 2014
Where: Orleans Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Officials: # Chris Rastatter, # Larry Spaulding, # Bob Staffen
Attendance: 1518

New Mexico State 77, Idaho 55: Daniel Mullings scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the Aggies rolled to their third straight Western Athletic Conference title in Las Vegas.

Sim Bhullar, a 7-foot-5, 355-pounder from Toronto, added 14 points and nine rebounds as second-seeded New Mexico State (26-9) won its fifth straight game. Tshilidzi Nephawe chipped in with a dozen points and seven rebounds for the Aggies, who earned their 21st NCAA tournament berth.

Stephen Madison paced Idaho (16-18) with 17 points. Mike Scott added 14 points for the fifth-seeded Vandals, who knocked off top seed Utah Valley State on Friday.

The Aggies trailed 8-3 but went on a 20-5 run capped by a 3-pointer by Kevin Aronis to take a 23-13 lead and they never trailed again. Bhullar had 10 points at the half as New Mexico State shot 55.6 percent from the field and took a 39-25 lead into the break.

The Vandals trimmed an 18-point deficit to 11 on a Madison 3-pointer with 13:54 left. The Aggies responded with an 11-1 run to take a 64-43 with eight minutes to play and cruised from there.

GAME NOTEBOOK: It was Idaho's last game in the WAC. The Vandals are moving to the Big Sky Conference next season. ... New Mexico State improved to 5-1 in WAC title games. ... Bhullar blocked one shot, giving him 99 for the season.
Top Game Performances
 
Idaho   New Mexico St.
Stephen Madison 17 Scoring Daniel Mullings 18
Mike Scott 2 Assists DK Eldridge 4
Bira Seck 4 Rebounds Sim Bhullar 9
Stephen Madison 10 Free Throws Made Ian Baker 4
Stephen Madison 2 Steals Daniel Mullings 2
N/A Blocks Sim Bhullar 1
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Idaho 55 38.3 2-13 17-22 8 18 0 5 5
New Mexico St. 77 55.8 5-11 14-17 17 35 1 2 9