No. 14 Nevada rallies to beat Boise State in MWC quarters
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Jazz Johnson scored 20 points, Caleb Martin had 19 and No. 14 Nevada rallied to beat Boise State 77-69 on Thursday in the Mountain West Conference Tournament quarterfinals.
Tre’Shawn Thurman added 17 points, and Cody Martin had 10 to help top-seeded Nevada (29-3) to tie the school record for victories in a season. The Wolf Pack will face the UNLV-San Diego State winner in the semifinals.
Down 34-29 at halftime, Nevada shot 62 percent from the field in the second half, going 5 of 11 from 3-point range.
Derrick Alston led Boise State (13-20) with 21 points, and Justinian Jessup had 18. The Broncos hung around thanks to 8-of-17 shooting from 3-point range and an 11-of-13 mark from the free-throw line.
After the Wolf Pack took a 57-50 lead with 9:33 left, the Broncos went on a 10-0 run. Nevada took the lead for good on Cody Martin’s jumper with 3:37 left. The Wolf Pack slowly pulled away, converting all eight free throws in the final 51 seconds.
Boise State led 11-3 and had a 27-12 advantage with 7:37 left in the first half. The Wolf Pack opened 2 of 14 from the field..
The Wolf Pack swept the regular season games, winning 72-71 in Boise and 93-73 in Reno.
THE BIG PICTURE
Nevada: Coach Eric Musselman is 6-2 in the MWC tournament.
Boise State: The Broncos are 8-51 against AP Top 25 teams.
UP NEXT
Nevada will face the UNLV-San Diego State winner in the semifinals Friday.
