The Nevada Sagebrush

Nevada sophomore guard Deonte Burton makes the final 3-point shot of the game in a 53-52 win over Utah State on Saturday in Lawlor Events Center. Garrett Valenzuela/Nevada Sagebrush

Perhaps it was the giant cardboard cutout of Oprah or the sea of white shirts in the student section. Or maybe it was the deafening noise coming from 9,988 basketball fans — the largest crowd the Wolf Pack has seen since 2008.

Whatever it was, the Nevada men’s basketball team found a way to squeak by Western Athletic Conference foe Utah State 53-52 Thursday night in Lawlor Events Center.

But it wasn’t pretty, as Nevada (19-3, 8-0 WAC) shot 30.4 percent in the first half and went into the locker room having scored only 19 points. Utah State (12-11, 4-4 WAC) didn’t fare much better after scoring just 18 points by the end of the fist period.

Nevada’s one bright spot in the first half was junior Malik Story. Of the Wolf Pack’s 19 points, Story had 10.

“I thought it was huge,” said head coach David Carter. “(Story) got us off to an 8-2 run. Deonte (Burton) was 0-7 in the first half, I thought he was trying to force it a little bit too much. We didn’t do a good job of getting the ball inside and getting Dario (Hunt) and Olek (Czyz) involved so Malik was huge for giving us a one point lead at halftime.”

The second half saw both teams shoot better. That includes Nevada sophomore Deonte Burton. After having a bad opening half, Burton did nothing but make plays accumulating 13 points and two assists en route to victory.

Nevada played catch-up with the Aggies for much of the second period, but it wasn’t overwhelming for the Wolf Pack, as the Aggies largest lead was five points. There were also four tie scores in the period.

It came down to the wire, and Nevada’s situation didn’t look very good with just over two minutes to play. Utah State’s senior guard Brockeith Pane sank a jumper to give the Aggies a 52-50 lead.

The final minute and 45 seconds of the game can only be described as sloppy and tense. With both teams missing point-blank layups, turning the ball over and making bad decisions. It looked like the first team to make a shot would win the game.

The most important series of plays occurred in the final 30 seconds. Nevada sophomore forward Devonte Elliott made a game-changing block on a 15-foot jumper by Preston Medlin of the Aggies, and Wolf Pack fans appreciated it.

“You got swatt-ed,” the Nevada student section chanted.

Nearly everyone in the crowd screamed in excitement.

“We said (Elliot) needed him to make some big plays, and he delivered ” senior forward Dario Hunt said. “He got a huge blocked shot, got a couple of rebounds. You never know who’s going to step up on certain nights, and he did a great job tonight.”

If it weren’t for that block, Burton would never have had the chance to win the game.

Burton probed around the perimeter on the next possession with the shot clock off. He fired off a 3-point shot with 11 seconds to go, he but tried to draw a foul by jumping into the defender. No foul was called and with the ball still in the air, Nevada’s win streak hang in the balance. As the leather swished through the net, and fans exploded with sound.

By his own admission, Burton thought that shot was lucky.

“It was a lucky shot, to be honest,” Burton said. “I had the confidence but I tried to draw the foul. It went in luckily. I think I got fouled, but I didn’t get the call.”

Hunt was also thanking Nevada’s lucky stars.

“I’ll take that, man,” said Hunt. “It was one of the luckiest shots I’ve ever seen but what goes in, goes in. So I’ll take that any day.”

It wasn’t over yet, though. And the final six seconds proved to be as tense as any. The Aggies had their last shot at winning the game when senior forward Morgan Grim had a brief opportunity to score. Grim missed the layup, grabbed his own rebound, immediately went back up and was rejected when Elliot blocked the second-chance shot.

Nevada fans celebrated Elliot’s second block within the final 30 seconds of the game, as it all but sealed the 53-52 outcome that gives the Wolf Pack its 16^th win in a row.

It ties the longest streak in program history (1965-66 season). It’s also the nation’s second-longest winning streak behind Murray State’s 22. When Idaho travels to Nevada on Saturday night at 7, the Wolf Pack will be looking to break its program record for consecutive victories at 17.

“Every game becomes a bigger one,” said Carter. “I try to take it one game at a time, and I told the guys we have to get ready for Idaho.”

Michael Lingberg can be reached at mlingberg@nevadasagebrush.com.

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