LAS VEGAS, Nev. — Troy Gillenwater had 18 points, Gordo Castillo added 14 while hitting all
10 of his free throws and New Mexico State grinded out a 66-60 win over Nevada in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament on Thursday.

New Mexico State (16-16), the defending WAC Tournament champions, got off to an awful start and never found much of a rhythm in a defensive-dominated game. Gillenwater made some big plays down the stretch, the bench outscored Nevada's 16-1 and Castillo hit four free throws in the final 31 seconds to seal the win, sending the Aggies into today's semifinals against Boise State.

"We wanted to keep going, we didn't want to lose," Castillo said. "If we lose, that's probably the end of our season. We didn't have a very good, so we wanted to keep on winning and go to the NCAA Tournament. It's do or die."

Nevada's Malik Story had 22 points and hit a turnaround 3-pointer with about 20 seconds left to pull the Wolfpack within two, but he had a key turnover and missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds. Nevada had just four assists with 15 turnovers and missed 10 free throws to see its inconsistent season come to an end.

"We've just got to get better," said Nevada's Olek Czyz, who had 11 points. "We just have to finish at the end of the game and be tougher."

The Wolfpack lost three of their final four games in the regular season, the final one a 77-68 setback at New Mexico State.

Nevada pulled it together to open the WAC Tournament, building a 19-point lead in the first half before holding off Fresno State behind Story's career-high 34 points and six 3-pointers.

The Wolfpack also beat New Mexico State by 19 in Reno in January, getting 20-point nights from Deonte Burton and Dario Hunt while shooting 56 percent.

"We did a good job, we went inside and made the free throws when we got them," New Mexico State head coach Marvin Menzies said.

SAN JOSE STATE 74, IDAHO 68

In Las Vegas, Nev., Keith Shamburger and Adrian Oliver had 28 points each, and the Spartans knocked off another higher seed in the quarterfinals.

No. 8 seed San Jose State (17-14) pulled off a mild upset in the WAC opener, knocking off No. 5 seed Hawaii to extend its season at least one more game. The Spartans earned another reprieve behind their perimeter shooting, hitting 13 3-pointers, including six each by Shamburger and Oliver.

Next up in today's semifinal: a tough No. 23 Utah State, the tournament's top seed.