The Nevada men’s basketball team suffered a 67-59 loss to Colorado State in the second round of the Mountain West Tournament, marking its third defeat to the Rams this season. The loss dropped the Pack to 0-11 against the conference’s top-five teams, all but ending their NCAA Tournament hopes.
Colorado State wasted no time after winning the opening tip, striking first with a quick layup from forward Rashaan Mbemba. Guard Kyan Evans followed up with a deep three, giving the Rams an early 5-0 advantage.
Nevada answered in style, as forward Brandon Love jumped a passing lane, raced down the court, and threw down a slam to put the Pack on the board. Moments later, forward Nick Davidson muscled his way inside for a layup.
Evans drilled his second three of the night, and forward Nique Clifford buried another from beyond the arc, pushing Colorado State’s lead to 13-4.
Guard Kobe Sanders responded with a smooth turnaround jumper, while Davidson powered through traffic for two more in the paint. Clifford struck back with a deep jumper, keeping the Rams in front.
Nevada got started from beyond the arc as guard Tyler Rolison knocked down a long three, and Davidson followed up with another from distance on the next possession, cutting the deficit to 15-14 with 12:24 left in the first half.
Clifford threw down a dunk, but Davidson stayed locked in, converting a layup inside before sinking a jumper on back-to-back possessions to keep the score tight at 19-18.
Guard Keyshawn Williams answered with a one-handed floater for the Rams before Evans sank his third three of the game. Sanders countered with a soft jumper in the lane, and Rolison added another contested shot to trim the gap to 24-22.
Clifford tacked on three free throws, but Sanders responded with a floater, then followed it up with another jumper in the paint, making it 27-26 with two minutes left in the half. Clifford added two more at the line.
Guard Xavier DuSell capped off the half with a jumper for his first points of the night, keeping Nevada within striking distance at 29-28. Davidson led Nevada with 11 points, but the Pack struggled from deep, hitting just 2-of-14 from three (14.3 percent).
Clifford sliced through the defense for a layup to open the half, setting the tone for Colorado State. Forward Jaylen Crocker-Johnson powered through contact for a bucket and converted the and-one, while Mbemba banked in a shot off the glass. The Rams stormed out of the break with an 8-0 run.
Sanders ended Nevada’s scoring drought with two free throws, and Rolison added one at the line, but the Pack couldn’t buy a basket, missing their first 10 shots of the half.
Davidson finally broke the slump with a tip-in layup, but the struggles continued as Chuck Bailey drew a foul but missed both free throws. Clifford capitalized in transition, finishing at the rim and drawing a foul for an and-one.
Davidson added two more at the line, but Williams buried Colorado State’s first three of the half, pushing the Rams’ lead to 43-35 with under 12 minutes remaining.
Sanders and Davidson tried to answer with back-to-back threes, but neither connected as Nevada’s deep shooting woes continued.
Davidson tacked on two free throws, but Rams guard Jalen Lake knocked down a jumper on the other end. On the next possession, Sanders finally got Nevada’s first three-pointer of the half, only for guard Ethan Morton to answer with a layup.
Sanders swiped a steal and immediately drew a foul, knocking down both free throws. Clifford answered with a driving layup through traffic.
After a missed jumper by Evans, Sanders grabbed the rebound and pushed the pace, weaving through defenders for a layup that cut the deficit to 49-44 with 7:18 to play.
Davidson followed with a jumper in the paint, but Crocker-Johnson responded with two free throws. Davidson struck again, sinking his second three-pointer to keep Nevada in the fight.
Mbemba countered with a layup, and Crocker-Johnson drilled a three, stretching Colorado State’s lead to 56-49 with under four minutes to go.
Rolison drew a foul and hit both free throws, but Mbemba responded inside once again. Lake added one at the line, and Clifford knocked down a jumper off a Sanders turnover.
Sanders buried a deep three, pulling Nevada within 61-54 with 1:25 left.
With under a minute to go, Clifford returned to the line and hit both shots. Rolison answered with a layup, but Crocker-Johnson broke free in transition for an easy finish.
Sanders was fouled on a three-point attempt and calmly sank all three free throws, trimming the gap to 65-59 with 15 seconds left. When Crocker-Johnson missed both free throws on the other end, Nevada had one last chance to make it a one-score game. Rolison launched a three—but it air-balled. Evans iced the game at the line, as Nevada’s season came to an end in a 67-59 defeat.
The Pack was outmatched in the second half, shooting just 7-of-26 (26.9 percent), while the Rams torched them at 13-of-24 (54.2 percent). Davidson led Nevada with 23 points and seven rebounds, with Sanders close behind at 22 points and six boards. The rest of the team combined for just 14 points on 5-of-20 shooting (25 percent).
For the sixth time in Steve Alford’s tenure, Nevada failed to advance past the second round of the Mountain West Tournament. Nevada will now look for a possible invite from the NIT or the new College Basketball Crown tournament.
