The No. 5 seed, Nevada Wolf Pack men’s basketball team (21-10, 12-8), edged out the No. 4 seed, the Grand Canyon Antelopes (20-11, 13-7) 84-80 in a quarterfinal matchup of the Mountain West Conference Tournament on Wednesday, March 12, in Las Vegas, Nev.
The Lopes started with the ball, getting off on a quick 9-2 start led by guards Makaih Williams and Jaden Henley.
Nevada fought back with a scoring flurry by guard Chuck Bailey and center Joel Armotrading, cutting the Grand Canyon lead to two.
After a Peyton White put-back dunk got Nevada within one point of the Lopes, Grand Canyon guard Brian Moore Jr. hit back-to-back triples to put them up multiple scores.
With five minutes remaining in the half, Henley made two free throws to give the Lopes their largest lead of the half, up by 11, 32-21.
The Pack’s star guard Corey Camper Jr. was quiet, but two made 3-pointers and a floater got the Nevada offense in a groove late in the half.
The teams traded buckets in the final minutes, before Pack guard Tyler Rolison made a jumper to cut the deficit to 40-34.
Coming out of the break, Nevada went on a run to take their first lead of the game. A three from Camper Jr. and back-to-back layups by Vaughn Weems and Tayshawn Comer forced Grand Canyon into a timeout down one point at 41-40.
The Pack continued to push through the final frame, led by Camper Jr., who grabbed an offensive rebound and won a trip to the line.
After Henley stripped Comer of the ball on a transition play, Pack forward Kaleb Lowery was called for a flagrant foul after sweeping the legs out from underneath Henley. Fortunately for the Pack, Henley missed both free throws and the jumper after getting the ball back.
With the game tied at 44, Camper Jr. was able to jump above the rest, dunking over two Grand Canyon defenders.
Scoring was a rarity at the start of the half, but Grand Canyon forward Nana Owusu-Anane made two buckets to give them the lead back. However, Armotrading was fouled, making both free throws to take the lead back for the Pack.
Both teams traded trips at the charity stripe, but Grand Canyon center Efe Demirel missed his second free shot, allowing Weems to convert a tough and-one opportunity.
Halfway through the second half, the Pack led by four but a triple from Owusu-Anane cut the lead to one. On the subsequent possession, Owusu-Anane was fouled by Price for his fourth, however, he missed the first of his one-and-one opportunities. Through the first ten minutes of the second half, GCU shot 3-11 from the free throw line.
After both teams traded points from the free throw line, the game began to open up with just over five minutes to go. Williams scored for the Lopes, but that was quickly answered by a crafty cut from Weems.
On the following possession, Henley made a layup, but Kaleb Lowery hit one of the biggest shots of the game from beyond the arc. Nevada extended their lead to 68-64.
With less than four minutes remaining in the game, both teams suffered a major blow as Armotrading fouled out for the Pack, and Demirel fouled out for the Lopes.
With GCU down 72-68, Williams chucked up a prayer from three and it fell, cutting the lead to a one-score advantage. Following the clutch make, Williams fouled Price who made both free throws. With 1:47 left in the quarter, Nevada had not scored a field goal in the last 3:44.
With less than a minute left, Camper Jr. broke the scoring drought with a driving lay-up, making the score 76-73.
The fouling continued, as Tayshawn Comer sunk two, followed by two for Grand Canyon by Williams.
Up 79-75, two free throws from Camper Jr. put the Pack up by six once again.
Comer fouled Williams in the act of shooting a three. Williams only made 2-out-of-3 free throws.
After Comer hit two more from the line, Williams hit another triple for the Lopes to cut the deficit to three.
Williams’ late heroics was not enough though, as Comer made one final free throw to seal the game at 84-80.
The Pack’s next challenge comes tomorrow, March 13, against the No. 1 seed, the Utah State Aggies, at 6:30 p.m.
