In front of another vibrant crowd at Lawlor, Nevada welcomed another opponent in Liberty in the second round of the NIT. It was a close one that included the Pack being down within the final five minutes of the game, but Nevada found its way to lock it back down and win 73-63.

“I’ve been in this before as a player and a coach several times, and it’s all about the crowd,” Nevada head coach Steve Alford said.

Final: Liberty 63, Nevada 73

Liberty took advantage of a missed shot by Nevada and, in return, hit a wide-open dunk for an early 2-0 start. Nevada began the game 0-6, allowing Liberty to start 6-0 after just three minutes. Elijah Price fought his way through the paint to finally get the Pack on the board, cutting it to a 6-2 game.

The Wolf Pack continued to score in the paint, cutting it down to a 9-6 Liberty lead that included the Flames hitting a two and a half minute scoring drought. The Flames broke it up pretty quickly, but Tayshawn Comer hit the first three for the Pack to make it a two-point deficit.

Nevada’s first lead of the game came just under the 12-minute mark, paired with a 7-0 Nevada run. Both sides stalled offensively for a bit, but Tyler Rolison woke things up for the Pack with a shot beyond the arc for a 19-14 lead under nine minutes. Rolison hit another shot with a fadeaway jumper to push Nevada over the 20-point mark.

Liberty was forced to call a timeout after the Pack went on another hot offensive drive, this time with a 6-0 run to make it a 25-16 Nevada lead. The Flames, despite starting the game off with the lead, struggled to find the bucket after those first three minutes. That was particularly the case from the three-point line, starting the game 0-9 from that spot.

The Flames were able to cut it back down to a four-point deficit and kept pace with that score for a few minutes. Nevada went on to score and widen the gap, but Liberty kept finding ways to claw back in, specifically from the free-throw line.

Liberty hit its first three of the game with 40 seconds left in the first half, finishing those first 20 minutes going 1-10 from deep. The Flames shot 12-26 from the field as a whole with just one turnover. Nevada shot 15-26 from the field and 2-8 from deep with four turnovers.

Corey Camper Jr. got things started in the second half with a score in the paint to make it 37-31 out of halftime. Kaleb Lowery kept it going with a three-pointer, followed by another slam from Price, and it was quickly a 42-31 Nevada lead.

While it wasn’t a huge scoring night for Camper, he did reach a few career milestones tonight. His 13 rebounds and 10 assists were both career highs, with his previous assist record also coming against Liberty last year while Camper was at UTEP. Camper went on to collect a triple-double with 10 points.

“I sure hope we can find someone like that coming up in the portal, cause he [Camper] was a diamond in the rough,” Alford said about the senior guard. “And I’m not just talking about how his development as a player these eight months has been unbelievable, but he’s a high character who’s been raised the right way.”

Despite a hot start to the half, Nevada wasn’t able to keep Liberty quiet for long. A few fast-break opportunities, including a deep three that looked like it had no chance of actually going in, cut the Flames deficit down to a two-point game at 50-48 with 11 minutes on the clock.

Liberty quickly took its first lead since the beginning of the first half with yet another three. It marked an 11-0 run for the Flames that made it 54-50. Nevada broke its scoring drought of over two minutes with a score in the paint to cut it back down, but Liberty responded with a layup of its own, making it 56-52 Flames with 9:02 left.

Nevada clawed its way back into the game, tying it at 58-58 with just over five minutes to go. Liberty guard Brett Decker Jr. hit a three in response, retaking the lead at 61-58. Decker would go on to finish the night with 20 points on 6-13 shooting.

Price gave the Wolf Pack the lead once again with free throws, making it a 62-61 Nevada lead with 3:21 to go. Price would go on to score 15 points, the team high on the night, off of 5-8 shooting.

The Pack turned in a nice 9-0 run that was capped by an electric three-pointer from Comer for a 67-61 Nevada lead. It turned into a 15-2 run over the final three minutes that put a bow on this one and sent Nevada to the quarterfinals.

Nevada shot 25-54 from the floor as a team and 4-17 from three. Liberty shot 23-57 from the floor and 5-22 from three.

“They’re top 20 in the country in threes, and we held them to four,” Alford said about holding Liberty away from the three-point line.

Nevada will face the winner of Auburn vs. Seattle U, which tips off tomorrow, March 22. If Auburn wins, Nevada will travel for the first time this NIT. If Seattle U wins, Nevada will host the quarterfinal game.