New Mexico State served Hawai'i on treys in an 82-72 rout in Western Athletic Conference men's basketball at the Pan American Center in Las Cruces, N.M.

The Aggies (11-11 overall, 5-4 WAC), who entered the game leading the conference with 40 percent shooting from 3-point range, shot 8 of 14 3-pointers, including 4-of-4 shooting by Gordo Castillo.

The 3-pointers and Jamar Young's 25 points were more than enough to overcome a 27-point performance by Roderick Flemings of UH (10-11, 2-7). It was his seventh game with 20 or more points this season.

"We gave ourselves a chance to be in there at the end, but when you let a great shooter like Castillo get off, it's a big difference," UH coach Bob Nash said. "We ran our stuff and ran it good. We made our baskets, but just couldn't overcome the deficit."

The game was pretty even most of the first half. The Rainbow Warriors had an 18-14 lead with 12:26 left after a 3-pointer by Flemings. But a technical foul on Petras Balocka shortly after the basket helped the Aggies bounce back. After Young converted the technical free throws, Jonathan Gibson's jumper following a turnover tied the score at 18 with 11:31 showing.

UH later tied it at 26 on Bill Amis' layup with 4:33 left, but a 3-pointer by Young ignited a 7-0 run in a 44-second span to open the Aggies' lead to 33-26. The Aggies also converted two three-point plays before the half to take a 39-31 lead into the break.

The Rainbows opened strong in the second half, closing to 44-39 with 14:41 to play. But Castillo sank successive 3-pointers in a 34-second span to give the Aggies a double-digit lead.

"That was a big difference," Nash said of Castillo's 3s. "We made some changes, went to little bit of a zone so that we could keep Hiram (Thompson) in the game. Then what happened was Castillo ran along the baseline, got his first 3, then ran along the baseline again and got his second one. That just stretched the floor and we just never recovered from that point on. We played even from then on, but it was a little too late."

Hawai'i shot 38 percent from the field, including 3 of 16 from 3-point range. Amis had a season-high 18 points.

New Mexico State shot 48 percent from the field, but 57 percent from 3-point range. The Aggies also made 26 of 33 free throws.

The Rainbow Warriors return home for a three-game homestand starting Thursday against Fresno State.