ESPN Men's Basketball

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) -- Senior Justin Hawkins scored 18 points to lead New Mexico State to an 88-65 win over San Jose State on Thursday in the Pan American Center.

In the second game of the season between the Western Athletic Conference foes, NMSU (18-13, 11-4 WAC) controlled San Jose State (12-17, 4-11 WAC) after opening the second half with a 16-point lead.

With about 19 minutes on the clock, Hawkins caught an assist from fellow senior Fred Peete and slammed a crowd-pleasing dunk that gave the Aggies a 53-32 lead. NMSU maintained its momentum and went 34-for-72 to secure the win.

Sophomore C.J. Webster led the Spartan offense as he went 8-for-11 from the field and tied his career-high 21 points and his career-best 15 rebounds.

San Jose State freshman Justin Graham, who has led the Spartans with an average 11.6 points per game, finished the night with 13 points.

NMSU did not score until nearly four minutes into the game, but the Aggies recovered from an early San Jose State lead with a 12-0 run that began with a free throw by Hawkins. The Aggies went on to build a 46-30 halftime lead, with Hawkins contributing 14 points.

Webster kept San Jose State in the game with 13 points in the first half.