Nevada (19-9, 11-6) beat New Mexico (21-7, 12-5) 67-60 for their second straight conference victory.
“I’m really proud of the guys,” Nevada Head Coach Steve Alford said. “Tremendous, just grit and bite. Another game we won in the last eight minutes.”
Center Joel Armotrading won the tip for Nevada before guard Vaughn Weems knocked down a jumper for the game’s first points. Then, forward Elijah Price laced the first three of the game shortly after before Weems nailed a three of his own to put the Pack up 8-0.
New Mexico netted their first basket when guard Deyton Albury finished a layup to cap off a fast break.
From there, both teams went scoreless for over two minutes until guard Corey Camper Jr. sank a fadeaway jumper from the free throw line.The Lobos did not have the same luck though.
Their scoring drought continued for nearly two minutes after that until Albury made a free throw.
The next few minutes remained a defensive battle, with neither team able to score more than a few points until New Mexico scored two straight baskets to make it a 3-point game.
From there, the Lobos remained hot as guard Jake Hall drilled a pull up three to tie the game at 12. However, the score did not remain even for long as Price made a mid-range jumper of his own.
The scoring started to pick up after that, as each team traded buckets before a timeout halted the play.
Following the break, not much changed, both teams continued to score until the final seconds, where Nevada guard Tayshawn Comer made a jumper to tie the score at 23 before the half.
Weems kicked off the second half with a nifty euro-step layup to give the Pack a two point lead. New Mexico quickly evened the odds, though, when forward Tomislav Bujan made a hook-shot.
After that, the Lobos started to pull away going on a 15-6 run to bring the score to 40-31.
Nevada wouldn’t back down though, as Price made two straight jump-shots to bring his squad within five points.
“We’re not really worried about who scores,” Price said. “As long as we get the job done, but it feels good to help our team win.”
The Wolf Pack was unable to cut the lead any more until a lob from Weems to Armotrading brought Lawlor Events Center back into the action.
Then, a steal from Comer started a fastbreak that finished when Weems readjusted mid-air to make a layup.
After Camper Jr. converted an and-one opportunity to bring the score within one point, the Lobos offense turned the ball over as the crowd reached a deafening pitch.
A foul on Price gave the Pack an opportunity to not only tie the game, but take the lead with free throws. Price made both shots to put the score at 55-54.
Nevada extended their lead to three points when Weems blew past his defender for a layup on back-to-back possessions. Nevada went on a 13-2 run during this time.
From there, Nevada sealed the game on a fast-break slam from Camper Jr. to give the Pack their second straight conference win.
The Pack’s next challenge will come against UNLV (14-13, 9-7) on Feb. 28 in Las Vegas.
