Nevada Basketball earns 82-79 victory over UNLV in overtime thriller

The Nevada men’s basketball team tops intrastate rival UNLV 82-79 in overtime in a crucial, hard-fought battle Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Nev. The Wolf Pack won the Silver State Series for the second consecutive year, winning their sixth-straight game versus UNLV.

This was Wolf Pack’s lone overtime game this season. UNLV has played in six, dropping to 2-4 (.333) in overtime contests on the year.

Wednesday’s win improves Nevada’s record to 16-10 with a 9-5 conference record. The Pack are tied with Boise State and Utah State for second place in the conference standings.

The Wolf Pack are now 2-7 (.222) on the road this season, earning their first road victory since Dec. 7 versus Air Force.

Nevada shot 44.6 percent from the field. The Wolf Pack struggled from beyond the arc, shooting 24 percent from 3-point range. Their six 3-point baskets are T-3rd fewest on the year.

The Pack had three double-digit scorers. Jalen Harris led Nevada with 29 points on 9-of-21 shooting and hauled in a career-high 14 rebounds. He was one point shy of extending his 30-point streak to five games.

Harris has recorded double-digit scoring in 22 consecutive games. He is averaging a conference-best 25.9 points in 13 conference games.

Jazz Johnson tallied 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting. Nisré Zouzoua added 12 points on 4-of-13 shooting off the bench. Zouzoua reached 1,300 career collegiate points.

Nevada mixed in a 1-3-1 and a 2-3 zone throughout the game. UNLV shot 35.8 percent from the floor and 23.1 percent from deep — its second-lowest 3-point percentage this year.

Bryce Hamilton tallied a team-high 23 points on 9-of-25 shooting with a team-high nine rebounds. He has reached double figure scoring in 13 consecutive games.

Jonah Antonio and Amauri Hardy tallied 14 points apiece. Hardy shot 6-of-14 from the floor while Antonio shot 5-for-13, including 4-of-12 from deep.

Nevada finished a plus-one on the boards to UNLV — who was T-2 in the MW in rebounding margin (plus-7.3) heading into Wednesday. The Rebels took advantage of the Pack’s zone on the offensive glass, owning a 21-12 advantage which led to 15 second-chance points.

Marvin Coleman’s 3-pointer put UNLV ahead 11-7. The Pack’s 1-3-1 zone stalled the Rebel offense as they went without a made basket for the next 7:20.

Nevada’s 10-0 run — capped-off by a wide open layup from Johncarlos Reyes — gave the Pack a 17-11 lead with 9:24 remaining.

Zouzoua’s 3-pointer extended Nevada’s advantage to 24-15. Back-to-back baskets from Zouzoua gave Nevada a 33-22 lead — its largest lead of the game — with 3:17 remaining.

UNLV responded with two-straight baskets and cut the Pack’s lead to 33-28, forcing a Wolf Pack timeout.

Nevada’s halftime lead stood at 39-37 after the Rebels finished the final 2:32 of the first half on a 9-4 run. The Pack shot 50.0 percent in the first half to UNLV’s 40.6 percent.

Zane Meeks’ tip-in after a Zouzoua miss awarded Nevada a 49-43 lead. Elijah Mitrou-Long’s steal-and-score capped-off a 10-0 Rebel run, giving them a 53-49 lead with 11 minutes remaining.

Back-to-back buckets from Harris cut UNLV’s lead to 56-54. Reyes’ hook shot tied it up at 62 with 6:04 left.

Hardy’s layup gave UNLV a 70-67 lead, but Johnson’s 3-point basket knotted it up at 70 points with under two minutes remaining.

Harris’ layup put the Pack ahead 74-72 with 39 seconds remaining. An off-balance layup from Hardy forced a Wolf Pack timeout with 27 seconds left, tied at 74.

Johnson and Hardy traded 3-point baskets as the contest was tied at 79 with under two minutes to go. Harris’ hook shot gave the Wolf Pack an 81-79 lead. UNLV missed on its final two shots, resulting in its sixth home loss on the season.

The Wolf Pack return to the court on Tuesday, Feb. 18, versus New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M. Tip off will be at 6 p.m.