Nevada (15-6, 7-3) mounted a late comeback to beat conference newcomer Grand Canyon University (13-7, 6-3) 66-60 on Jan. 27.
The game began with Nevada winning the tip-off and assuming possession of the ball. A failed possession gave the ball over to the Antelopes, where they missed their first shot of the night.
Scoring started with a made hook shot from Wolf Pack guard Corey Camper Jr., though Grand Canyon quickly answered back with a layup of their own.
From there, things went sour for the Pack with GCU going on a 10-0 run before Nevada guard Peyton White drained a three. The made shot only did so much to temper the Nevada offense, though, as they missed their next two shots, falling behind 13-5.
Scoring started to pick up for the Pack when Chuck Bailey III checked in. The Wolf Pack guard banked in a 3-pointer to start before finishing a fast-break layup through contact, which prompted a timeout from the Antelope coaching staff.
“Shooting the ball with confidence, Coach and them got on me the other day and told me to just be free,” Bailey III said. “So, yeah, I was just confident tonight.”
Nevada continued their streak following the timeout, battling back into the game, tying the game at 22 off a step back jumper from guard Tyler Rolison, then taking the lead off a steal and score from guard Vaughn Weems. Grand Canyon turned the ball over eight times in the first half.
Then, with 25 seconds left in the first half, Bailey III nailed a mid-range jumper to give the Pack a 26-24 lead going into the break.
In the second half, Nevada kept scoring points off Grand Canyon turnovers, bringing the Pack’s lead to four points.
From there, both teams went ice cold on offense, scoring only a few points each over the next couple of minutes.
Neither team was able to pull away with the Antelopes maintaining a 41-39 lead as the game crossed the eight-minute mark.
Then, 7-foot-2 Grand Canyon center Efe Demirel came alive, scoring four straight points en route to a 7-point Antelope run, leading to a timeout from Nevada Head Coach Steve Alford. Nevada trailed by as many as nine points in the second half.
With just over a minute left in the game, a Wolf Pack stop followed by a three-pointer from White pulled the Pack within three.
Nevada was able to gain the ball back with 25 seconds left to play as an already electric Lawlor Events Center intensified even more. However, a missed three-pointer from White forced the Pack to foul.
“The student section was phenomenal, that’s the best they’ve been all year,” Alford noted. “I don’t think we win that game if our students get up and leave with three minutes to go.”
Nevada regained possession after two missed free throws from Antelope guard Jaden Henry. With 0.8 seconds left in regulation, Rolison was fouled while taking a three-point shot to tie the game.
Rolison’s first shot rattled around the basket before falling in. His second and third shots were much smoother, barely touching the net as he sent the game into overtime. Rolison made 9 shots on 11 free throw attempts.
“[Rolison] is nursing a bad back, and to go up there, he hasn’t even been shooting the free throw well and make three free throws,” Alford said. “That is the absolute hardest time to make three free throws.”
Nevada dominated the overtime period from the start, with Bailey III lacing a pair of three-point shots to give the Pack a six-point lead. From there, a couple of stops were all it took for Nevada to seal their seventh conference win of the season.
Nevada’s next matchup will come against UNLV (10-10, 5-4) on Jan. 30 in the first game of the season against the Pack’s southern rivals.
