The Nevada men’s basketball team (16-14, 8-11) closed its home schedule with a 71-67 loss to the New Mexico Lobos (24-6, 16-3) on Tuesday, March 4.
New Mexico struck first as guard Donovan Dent intercepted a pass from Nevada guard Tyler Rolison and converted a fast-break layup. Forward Mustapha Amzil forced a turnover off Nevada forward Nick Davidson, setting up a corner three for Dent to give the Lobos a 6-0 lead just two minutes in.
Nevada center Brandon Love powered through defenders for a slam, and Davidson followed with a layup to cut the deficit. New Mexico guard Filip Borovicanin drained a pull-up three after forcing another turnover off Davidson, which set up another Dent triple with a steal on Love. Dent tallied eight quick points as the Lobos jumped ahead 12-4 less than four minutes in.
Nevada guard Kobe Sanders kept Nevada in it, sinking a long two and two more jumpers in three consecutive possessions to pull within 12-10. Rolison then drove through traffic, finished at the rim, and completed the and-one to tie the game at 13.
New Mexico forward Nelly Joseph answered with a layup, but Nevada forward Justin McBride responded with a drive to even it at 15. Rolison’s step-back jumper briefly put Nevada ahead before New Mexico guard CJ Noland reclaimed the lead with a long three.
Rolison added two free throws, then Nevada guard Xavier DuSell hit a corner three to stretch the gap. Amzil responded with a triple, but DuSell countered with another, pushing the Wolf Pack’s lead to 25-21.
An Amzil foul on DuSell sent him to the line for three makes, but New Mexico guard Braden Appelhans drilled a deep three in response. Davidson finished at the rim off an inbound, only for New Mexico forward Jovan Milicevic to knock down a wide-open corner three. A Sanders turnover led to a Dent steal and score, tightening the game at 30-29.
Love beat the buzzer with a layup, but Dent answered on the other end. Davidson’s offensive board set up Sanders, who fed McBride for a putback. Sanders weaved through defenders for a tough layup, but Dent countered with an up-and-under finish. Dent closed the half with another layup in traffic, followed by a Joseph slam. The Lobos led 41-38 at halftime, with Dent pouring in a game-high 20 points.
A Rolison turnover to start the second half led to a Joseph layup, but Davidson fired back with a corner three and a floater to tie it at 43. Sanders drilled his first triple of the night, giving Nevada a 48-47 edge.
Rolison’s behind-the-back dime found forward K.J. Hymes for a layup. Dent responded with a step-back jumper and another mid-range bucket to put New Mexico ahead. Rolison set up McBride for a jumper to tie it at 52, but Noland’s layup reclaimed the lead. After a scoring drought, Sanders hit a step-back, and Davidson laid one in to push Nevada ahead.
Love’s putback layup gave the Pack a momentary lead, but Dent drew contact and hit free throws to make it 59-58. He followed with another jumper, and Washington buried a three to extend the Lobos’ lead to 64-59.
Davidson’s long two made it a one-possession game, but Amzil’s corner three pushed New Mexico’s advantage to 67-61. With under a minute left, Rolison attacked the rim, absorbed contact, and completed the three-point play to cut it to 67-65.
A DuSell foul sent Amzil to the line, where he split his free throws to make it 68-65. Sanders drove for a tough finish to bring Nevada within one, but the Pack was forced to foul, and Noland hit both at the stripe for a 70-67 edge.
Davidson had a chance to cut the deficit late but missed a jumper with eight seconds left. The ball rolled out of bounds, sealing the win for New Mexico. Dent hit a final free throw as time wound down, handing Nevada a 71-67 loss and dropping the Wolf Pack to 0-9 against the Mountain West’s top-five teams.
Dent finished with a game-high 33 points on 12-18 shooting. Davidson and Sanders led Nevada with 15 points apiece.
It was senior night for six Nevada players: guards Sanders and DuSell, forwards Love and Hymes and injured players guard Daniel Foster and forward Tre Coleman, who did not play in the matchup.
For the Pack to make the NCAA Tournament, they will need to win four straight games in the Mountain West Tournament.
“Staying together and fighting every minute,” DuSell said. “Just finish one game at a time and focus on what’s ahead. Four games have been won in a row in this conference so we’ll be trying to make it happen again.”
Nevada will close out the regular season on the road against San Diego State on Saturday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m.
James Wolfgang Perez can be reached via email at do**************@*nr.edu or via X @JamesWPerezUNR
