LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jalen Lake scored 16 points, Isaiah Stevens added 15 and Colorado State beat No. 23 Nevada 85-78 on Thursday night in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West Conference tournament.
The Rams (24-9), the No. 7 seed, never trailed after the 17:06 mark of the first half. Nique Clifford had 14 points and nine rebounds for Colorado State, and Joe Palmer added 12 points.
“I told the guys I’m not going to call any plays. We’re just going to go,” Colorado State coach Nico Medved said. “I told Isaiah to not even look at me, just go. I think our motion offense was good.”
Jared Lucas led the second-seeded Wolf Pack (26-7) with 18 points. Kenan Blackshear added 16 points for Nevada and Tylan Pope scored 10.
“We beat them twice this year,” said Lucas, who hit a half-court shot to beat the Rams 77-74 on Feb. 27. “We knew they would come out and give us their best shot.”
Colorado State maintained a mostly double-digit lead until Lucas made two free throws to cut the lead to 72-63 with 7:07 left. Nevada later trimmed it to 74-69 on a layup by K.J. Hymes with 5:15 left, but the Rams then pushed the lead back up to nine points about a minute later.
Nevada didn’t get closer than four points in the final four minutes.
“We just played our offense,” Clifford said. “Everybody was playing carefree and playing with confidence.”
The Rams held a 43-28 lead going into the final seconds of the first half. But Nevada’s Daniel Foster converted a second-chance layup with four seconds left. Then the Wolf Pack’s Tyler Roleson stole the ball around midcourt just before the buzzer and was fouled as he attempted to heave up a shot. Roleson converted three free throws with 0.3 seconds remaining to cut the lead to 43-33 at the half.
Colorado State shot 54% (14 of 26) from the field for the first half while Nevada made only 38% (8 of 21).
“It’s March, these are all one-game seasons,” Medved said. “It’s all we talk about now. There’s a desperation for every team right now.”
BIG PICTURE
COLORADO STATE: The Rams started the season winning 13 of their first 14 games, but down the stretch were 4-4 to finish tied for sixth in the conference. All five starters for the Rams are either graduate seniors (Scott, Josiah Strong, Stevens and Patrick Cartier) or seniors (Clifford).
NEVADA: The Wolf Pack entered the quarterfinal having won seven straight games and 10 out of 11. They also are a veteran team, with four starters either graduate seniors or seniors.
UP NEXT
Colorado State will play the winner of Thursday night’s final quarterfinal matchup between third-seeded Boise State and No. 6 seed New Mexico.
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A Nevada man is believed to have suffered a deadly fall while climbing in Oregon.
He’s been identified as 77-year-old Robert Pickering.
Search and rescue crews say they found his body along Mount Washington, northwest of Bend, according to a social media post from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.
A climbing guide reported hearing a rockslide near the summit after Pickering passed his group.
The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office was one of several groups that assisted in the search.
RENO, Nev. – A homicide suspect from Montana took their own life on Thursday night after police surrounded their car in northwest Reno, reports KTVN 2 News Nevada.
The incident happened in the area of Sharlands Avenue around 9 p.m., according to a spokesperson for the Reno Police Department.
Officers located the suspect and surrounded their car, blocking them in. They then heard a single gunshot and backed away.
Reinforcements were called, and a drone was brought in by UNRPD. It was then confirmed the suspect was in their car, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the news agency reports.
The suspect has not been identified pending the notification of next of kin, and no additional information has been released at this time.
In addition to the Reno Police Department, the Regional Narcotics Unit and Washoe County Sheriff’s Office also responded.
The investigation is ongoing.
MESQUITE (KTNV) — A deadly crash on Interstate 15 near Mesquite prompted a group of bystanders to spring into action before first responders could arrive, pulling a man from a burning motor home after a collision with a semi-truck.
Steven Grossman, a retired Army National Guard veteran, said he was driving northbound on I-15 after a Fourth of July camping trip with his family when he saw a motor home cross the center median from the southbound lanes.
“It was like a pile of dust, it was going across the center medium and down that big hill,” Grossman said.
WATCH | Nevada bystanders pull crash victim from burning motorhome on I-15 near Mesquite
Nevada bystanders pull crash victim from burning motorhome on I-15 near Mesquite
Nevada State Police Highway Patrol said the motor home had a blown tire. When it crossed the median, it crashed into a semi-truck and burst into flames.
Grossman said he immediately pulled over and ran toward the fire.
“I seen it on fire and, you know, we just, I just got out of the truck and just ran over there,” Grossman said.
NSP
Several other drivers also pulled over. Together, they worked to pull the motor home’s driver to safety.
“Let’s grab him and get him out of here. So we just grabbed him and just tugged him into the gutter right there, into the center medium,” Grossman said.
A propane tank exploded shortly after.
Grossman used his military medical training to keep the man still, while another bystander helped stabilize the victim’s neck until paramedics arrived.
NSP
The driver of the motor home, 62-year-old Gregory Louis Painter, later died at the hospital. Fire officials said 3 other people were taken to the hospital for injuries sustained in the crash.
Grossman said he does not consider himself a hero and that stopping to help was simply the right thing to do.
KTNV
“We were just the first ones there that if the next people that were the first ones there would have done the same thing,” Grossman said. “Same thing with behind them if it was 10 cars behind me, the cars behind them would have taken care of it. It’s just I think it’s just our human nature. People just want to help.”
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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