HONOLULU -- Miami didn't play with the energy and intensity coach Jim Larranaga wanted to see, and the result was predictable as New Mexico State handed the Hurricanes their first defeat of the season, 63-54 in Saturday's semifinals of the Diamond Head Classic at the Stan Sheriff Center.

Zach Lofton scored 15 points, and AJ Harris and Sidy N'Dir added 10 apiece as the Aggies survived a last-ditch run by the Hurricanes in the final four minutes with some timely shooting and a ball-hawking defense.

New Mexico State (11-2) will face Southern California, an 89-84 winner over Middle Tennessee, in Monday's championship game. Miami (10-1) will meet Middle Tennessee for third place.

"I thought our energy level was so low we were almost wearing galoshes," Larranaga said. "We looked very slow. We didn't play with the kind of energy and intensity that you have to play with on defense to stop opponents.

"And on offense, we couldn't make a shot, we didn't make good decisions, we turned the ball over and took bad shots. If you do that, it's a formula for disaster."

After Miami closed to 54-53 on two Bruce Brown free throws with 1:25 left, Lofton hit a 3-pointer with 55 seconds left and New Mexico State extended the advantage in the closing seconds.

DJ Vasiljevic topped the Hurricanes with 15 points. He made 6 of 11 shots from the field, but as a team, Miami finished 18 of 53.

Jemerrio Jones staked the Aggies to a 49-41 lead on a follow shot with 8:48 left in the game. That basket capped a 7-1 run during which New Mexico State turned a 42-40 advantage into the eight-point margin before Miami closed the gap.

After falling behind 13-6 early in the first half, New Mexico State went big and it paid off in a 29-25 lead at the intermission.

Johnathon Wilkins, a 6-foot-10 senior from Lille, France, led a balanced Aggies attack with seven points at the break, as New Mexico State hit the boards, forced the pace and created ragged play on the part of the Hurricanes, who committed 11 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

"We talked about it during the timeouts," said New Mexico State coach Chris Jans. "We got our legs underneath us now, and we can play with them. They're obviously very talented, and they have some really good players, but we have some really good players too.

"I felt like they were feeling each other out, and we talked about that in our first two media timeouts -- 'Let's compete and do what we do.' I felt like after the first two media timeouts that our confidence grew."

With the Aggies making liberal use of Wilkins and fellow forwards Eli Chuha and Johnny McCants, Larranga countered by playing post men Dewan Huell and Ebuka Izundo at the same time, but each picked up a second foul and were off the court for the final 2:32 of the first half, when N'Dir's follow shot with 41 seconds left accounted for the final points.

Miami, which built an early edge on the glass, led by only one (25-24) in first-half rebounding. New Mexico State held a 7-5 edge in second-chance points, and the teams were even with 16 points in the paint.

Vasiljevic had 13 first-half points to lead the Hurricanes, who shot a dismal nine of 29 from the field, 1 of 10 from 3-point range. Brown was scoreless in the first half but took a more aggressive tack after the intermission to finish with 13 points.

With 10 points, Huell was the only other Hurricanes player in double figures.

NOTES: For the second day in a row, New Mexico State played an opponent for the first time, having beaten Davidson 69-68 in Friday's opening round. ... Miami lost the rebounding battle to the Aggies 43-38, with the edge coming on the offensive glass, 14-9. ... New Mexico State hit 7 of 25 3-pointers; Vasiljevic knocked down the Hurricanes' first attempt from long range, but Miami was 1 of 17 from distance the rest of the way.