Man, that one hurts. Nevada’s last-minute magic defeated GCU in overtime to face Boise State tonight. After a mediocre first half, Nevada turned things around in the second half, with Tyshawn Comer’s heroics giving the team another chance to win in overtime.
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Unfortunately, the magic had worn off at this point, and Nevada fell to Boise State 91-87 in quarterfinals to fall to 0-5.
Rating summary
first half
Nevada 28 – Boise State University 39
second half
Nevada 51 – Boise State University 40
over time
Nevada 8 – Boise State University 12
Final: Nevada 87, Boise State 91
offense
Nevada missed a few shots in the early going, but Elijah Price scored inside the basket and got a foul three-pointer. Price scored again in the paint to score Nevada’s first five points of the game.
Price was fouled again and made one of two free throws to score six points early. The first player other than him to score for the team was Corey Camper Jr., who hit a floater after Nevada started 2-10.
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Tyler Rolison put Nevada within double digits on a floater to close the gap to nine points with less than 10 minutes left.
Camper temporarily suspended the scoring decline with a three-pointer and a foul, chasing the score to 4 points and chasing the score to 30-14. Boise State responded with two points, but Nevada responded as Tayshawn Comer scored in the paint to close the gap to 16 points.
Price reached double digits on a jumper, and Camper followed with a jumper to bring Nevada within 20 points. Price scored 10 points in the first half and Camper scored 14 points.
After the start of the second half, Comer hit a floater and Nevada narrowed the score gap to double digits. The Wolfpack tried to hit the deep ball but started out 0-2 from beyond the arc.
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Another 3-pointer by Camper gave him 20 more points, and he scored 35 points on 22-for-14 shooting, again setting a career high. Price and Kemper combined for 52 points.
Nevada gained momentum after foul calls and great shooting, going on a 6-0 run to make it 48-57 with just over 10 minutes left. Comer stepped back and hit his first three-pointer of the night, making it 52-57, and Nevada went on a 10-0 run. Vaughn Weems hit a three-pointer to tie the game at two.
Comer hit another step-back three-pointer within eight minutes to tie the game at 60, which was a huge improvement over Nevada’s performance in the first half. Comer scored two points throughout the first half but finished with 24 points and a 3-6 lead from three.
With a little more than 30 seconds left in the game, Nevada passed the ball to Camper. Camper shot the ball, but the ball bounced off the rim and Nevada had a great opportunity put aside. With about five seconds left, Boise State missed two free throws that could have ended the game. Comer rushed onto the court and hit a floater, chasing the score to 79-79 and dragging the game into overtime.
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Nevada scored just eight points in overtime and couldn’t hit the clutch shots they did in the second half. Nevada ended up shooting 32-65 from the field and 10-24 from three.
defense
Boise State started strong in the paint, scoring quickly and grabbing a few rebounds. Although Boise State started 0-4 from three in the first six minutes, it went on a 14-5 run before the first media timeout. The Broncos also grabbed seven rebounds and scored 12 of their 14 points in the paint.
Eight minutes into the game, the Broncos led 30-10 by 20 points. Boise State went on a 14-2 run and shot 60% from the field. Boise State had 13 rebounds in that time and forced four early turnovers against Nevada State.
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Boise State’s 3-point shooting was held steady, including one by guard RJ Keene and a technical foul after he was chirping on the Nevada bench. The Broncos ended the first half shooting just 4-for-4 from 3-point range, but made 15 of 29 field goals and grabbed 19 rebounds.
A late three-pointer of the second half pushed Boise State guard Dylan Andrews to 50 points, as he scored 25 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Boise State shot 28-of-54 from the field and 8-of-25 from 3-point range.
Amid Nevada’s huge offense, Boise State suffered a scoring drought for more than two minutes. The Broncos scored in the penalty area, chasing the score to 59-54 in 9 minutes.
Javan Buchanan scored 23 points on a three-pointer to put Boise State ahead 75-71 with two minutes to go. Boise State’s two missed free throw attempts in the final seconds were brutal for the Broncos.
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what’s next
Nevada returns home to welcome Fresno State to Lawler for the final time as a conference opponent. The Wolfpack narrowly defeated the Bulldogs 66-65 in their first game in early January.
Tip-off time is set for Saturday, February 7 at 7pm PST.
