Aggie Men lose to Wolf Pack 53-52 in final seconds for second loss to Nevada this season
Sophomore guard Deonte Burton scored 13 points, but it was an off-balance 3-pointer with 11 seconds left that gave Nevada a 53-52 win at the Lawlor Events Center on Thursday.
The Aggies (12-11, 4-4 WAC) have suffered several close losses this season — especially on the road — and this one might have stung the most.
“That’s a tough loss — as tough as it gets,” said USU head coach Stew Morrill. “Our guys played their hearts out and battled. We pound them on the boards; the game plan was well executed. Our triangle-and-2 bothered them.”
Morrill said he played several different defenses well.
“We got the pace of the game where we wanted it,” Morrill said. “We got them standing around a lot not knowing what to do. It was exactly what we had hoped to do coming in.”
Neither team was able to find its offense in the first half, but Nevada held a 19-18 lead heading into halftime. Nevada (19-3, 8-0 WAC) finished the game shooting 37.5 percent from the field and 33 percent from the 3-point line.
Junior forward Malik Story led the Wolf Pack with 18 points and four rebounds.
USU out-rebounded Nevada 34-28 and junior forward Kyisean Reed led the Aggies with 10 boards. The Aggies came up with 18 offensive rebounds, which translated to nine second-chance points.
In a game that saw 14 lead changes and four ties, USU built a seven-point lead six minutes into the second half. Senior guard Brockeith Pane, who finished with 12 points and five assists, made a layup and hit a free throw to give USU a 36-29 lead with 13:42 to play.
Sophomore guard Preston Medlin led USU with 15 points and hit one of his three 3-pointers as part of the run.
“It started on defense,” said junior forward Morgan Grim. “We got a lot of rebounds, and it pushed the break.
Nevada senior forward Dario Hunt, who averages nearly a double-double every game, finished with two points and five rebounds.
“The monster really took him out of it at the start of the game,” Grim said. “He didn’t really look to score a lot, so that helped. We kept him off the boards, so that was pretty good. I thought we were physical with him like we needed to be. It’s a good step forward.”
Nevada quickly erased the lead on a pair of 3’s from Burton, and Patrick Nyeko quickly erased the lead one minute later. But USU maintained the lead over the next 12 minutes, until Story hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game to give Nevada a 49-48 lead with four minutes to play.
Reed took the lead back for USU on a layup with 2:51 to play, and Pane extended the lead 52-50 with 2:11 to play on a 10-foot jumper, but that would be the last field goal the Aggies would score, as Nevada’s defense took over.
“The one stat that haunts me is the turnovers,” Morrill said. “Sixteen turnovers in a game like that is far too many. Credit (Nevada). We had a heck of a time scoring against them. They’re athletic and quick and caused us fits. We struggled at that start.”
USU had a chance to extend its lead before Burton’s clutch 3-pointer, but Nevada sophomore forward Devonte Elliot blocked Ben Clifford’s shot attempt with 27 seconds left.
Despite the road woes, USU remains optimistic.
“We’re 10 points away from being 7-1,” Grim said. “Some of them are going to come your way and some of them aren’t. Hopefully they come at the end of the season.”
– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu