New Mexico State rallies past CS Bakersfield 69-63

Mar 15, 2015, 01:55 am

LAS VEGAS -- Daniel Mullings had 21 points on Friday night to lead second-seeded New Mexico State over sixth-seeded Cal State Bakersfield 69-63 into the Western Athletic Conference championship.

New Mexico State (25-9) will face No. 5 seed Idaho (16-17) on Saturday night. The Vandals upset top-seeded Utah Valley 74-69 in the other semifinal on Friday.

DK Eldridge added 17 points for the Aggies, who rallied from a 35-26 halftime deficit. They first closed the gap at 43-43 on a Mullings layup with 12:29 left and never trailed after a Mullings 3-pointer made it a 52-50 New Mexico State lead with 7:08 to go.

Bakersfield (13-19) tied the game back up at 56 with 3:55 to play, but the Aggies followed with nine-straight points and made their final four free throws to seal the win.

Issiah Grayson had 33 points, six rebounds and five 3-pointers to lead the way for the Roadrunners.