Nevada makes incredible comeback on the road to take down rival UNLV

It felt like UNLV’s winning streak would extend to six for most of this game. Luckily for Nevada, the Nick Davidson and Jarod Lucas show ended UNLV’s streak and led Nevada to a huge 69-66 comeback win.

Nevada only had a lead once before making its remarkable comeback, which was a 28-27 lead with three minutes of the first half left. UNLV then took the lead and kept it until a minute left of the game. Nevada took a 15-2 run to retake the lead which ultimately led to the three-point win.

Scoring Summary:

1st Half-

Nevada 28 – UNLV 36

2nd Half-

Nevada 41 – UNLV 30

Final: Nevada 69, UNLV 66

Offense

Nevada’s offensive identity was pretty nonexistent throughout the first half. The team only shot 33.3 percent from the field, only went 7-8 from the free-throw line, and was down eight heading into halftime.

The comeback wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for its offense waking up in the second half. The Wolf Pack shot 63.16 percent from the field in the second half, went 15-18 from the free-throw line, and ended it with free-throw daggers.

Nick Davidson, who has become a secret weapon for Nevada has of late, led the team in scoring with 19 points. He also led with 11 rebounds and collected three assists. He didn’t need a single three (0-3 from beyond the arc) to lead the team in scoring.

Jarod Lucas wasn’t far behind with 18 points and two rebounds. He went 4-4 from the free-throw line, with all four coming in the final 16 seconds to hit the Rebels with the dagger. Lucas’ first two came with 16 seconds left to push it to 67-64, but UNLV quickly responded with a layup to bring it back to one point.

Lucas then drew another foul to head to the line, making both of them en route to the 69 points for Nevada.

Kenan Blackshear was the third player for Nevada to score double-digits with 12 points. He went 6-6 from the free-throw line, something we’ve seen Blackshear struggle with as of recently.

Defense

Just like the offense, Nevada’s defense was able to clean it up into the second half. The Rebels shot 44.8 percent from the field in the first half but dropped to 37.5 percent in the second half.

Nevada also did great at limiting the three-point shot for UNLV, as the team only shot 5-18 from beyond the arc.

UNLV guard Dedan Thomas Jr. led the Rebels with 19 points and eight assists. Although he led the team in scoring, Thomas Jr. shot the team in the foot.

With 20 seconds left to go, Thomas Jr. went to the free-throw line down 65-64. He missed both free throws, which quickly led to Lucas drawing fouls and hitting the dagger.

Nevada also did incredible in the rebounding department. The Wolf Pack outrebounded the Rebels 41-20 and were able to power through 17 turnovers. Both teams were extremely physical in this one, and it led to a lot of rough calls from Mountain West officials that we’ve seen throughout the entire season.

What’s Next

After improving to 20-6 overall and 7-5 in the conference, Nevada will head back home to Lawlor to face Wyoming. Nevada will try to prevent the sweep after losing to the Cowboys 98-93 a few weeks ago.

The fight for the top of the MW isn’t out of reach yet, and Nevada has a great chance to continue its dominant home play.

Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 20.