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It wasn’t that long ago that Nevada suffered a stunning double-digit loss to San Jose State on the road. Looking after that game, things looked bleak as Nevada had Utah State and New Mexico back-to-back at home. After taking down the Aggies, the Pack made it two in a row against top MW foes, taking down the Lobos 67-60.
It was an extremely slow first half for both offenses, and the physicality played into it with plenty of foul calls. Similar to Utah State, Nevada had to fight back in the second half, and behind a strong home crowd, Nevada has pushed to 11-6 in conference play.
“We don’t win without that crowd,” Vaughn Weems said. “We need them out every night, every single game, we need them here.”
Scoring Summary
1st Half
New Mexico 23 – Nevada 23
2nd Half
New Mexico 37 – Nevada 44
Final: New Mexico 60, Nevada 67
First Half
Nevada ran with a 5-0 lead off the backs of Vaughn Weems and Elijah Price. Weems followed up with his first three of the night for an 8-0 Nevada lead after three minutes. Within the first five minutes of the game, New Mexico was just 1-7 from the field.
By the second media timeout with just under 12 minutes, both offenses had hit an ice spell. It was a 10-3 Nevada lead, with the Pack shooting 4-13 and the Lobos at 1-11 from the field. New Mexico broke its dry spell with a layup shortly after the timeout, cutting it down to a five-point deficit.
After over five minutes without a score, Weems dug Nevada out with two free throws for a 12-5 lead under nine minutes. New Mexico responded with back-to-back layups to cut it to a three-point game. New Mexico standout Jake Hall shot a deep three, the first of the game for the Lobos, to tie the game at 12.
New Mexico took its first lead of the game with just over three minutes to play, with some help from Nevada turnovers and the whistles by the officiating crew. The rest of the half continued as a game of hot potato before going into halftime at a 23-23 tie. Neither team shot well, as Nevada shot 27 percent from the field and 22 percent from three, with New Mexico going 29 percent from the field and 18 percent from deep.
Second Half
Just like the first half, Weems opened up the scoring in the second in the paint. New Mexico answered with a layup of its own, and we were back to a tied ballgame at 25. The Lobos turned in a quick 8-0 run for their largest lead of the night at 31-25. Corey Camper Jr. got Nevada out of the scoring drought with his first three of the game, giving him double digits in scoring. Camper finished with 20 points on 6-16 shooting.
Nevada remained behind at the 12-minute mark, but some strong momentum off the back of Price cut it down to a 42-38 New Mexico lead. Price ended the night with 21 points and 12 rebounds on 6-12 shooting.
Nevada continued to battle against New Mexico’s aggressiveness as both sides fought against another Mountain West whistle fest. Camper tightened it within one after a bucket and a foul, sitting at a 52-51 New Mexico lead with 5:30 to play. Weems continued his hot streak with a bucket not too long after to give Nevada a 53-52 lead under five minutes. Weems would go on to finish with a career-high 20 points on 8-13 shooting.
“I don’t think we’ve had a game where three guys score 20,” Steve Alford said about Camper, Weems and Price scoring 61 of Nevada’s 67 points. “They did most of our scoring tonight, but I thought the ball moved better in the second half and the guys did a good job of getting the ball to guys who needed it.”
The Wolf Pack turned it up within the final minutes through Price, Weems and Camper. What was once a New Mexico-controlled second half turned upside down for the Lobos, ending in a 67-60 win for the Pack.
What’s Next
Nevada will head on to play its final two road games of the season, starting with a trip down south to face UNLV. The Rebels will face GCU on Feb. 25 on the road before returning home to host the Wolf Pack.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. PST on Saturday, Feb. 28.