This was a home game for GCU. A sea of purple went across the Thomas & Mack, including the Lopes’ student section. It was by far a hostile environment for Nevada, which didn’t have to face this crowd and travel to GCU in the regular season.
Nevada was able to push past the hostile environment and pull off an 84-80 win over GCU, one of the craziest games of the tournament so far. It was another whistle fest, but the Pack found a way in March.
Scoring Summary
1st Half
Nevada 34 – GCU 40
2nd Half
Nevada 50 – GCU 40
Final: Nevada 84, GCU 80
First Half
GCU and Nevada traded scores in the paint to start the game at 2-2. GCU turned that around into a 7-0 run that included a few air balls by Nevada and a scoring drought of over three minutes. Corey Camper Jr. broke the Pack out of it with a corner jumper to cut it to a five-point deficit.
Like most road games for Nevada, the game started with too many turnovers in a small span. Luckily for the Pack, the Lopes hit a small cold spell as well, not scoring from the field in a span of over four minutes. Tyler Rolison made a nice layup inside to cut it to a three-point game with 12 minutes left.
A midrange shot from Chuck Bailey, followed by a put-back dunk from Joel Armotrading, cut it down to a 16-14 GCU lead under nine minutes. Freshman Peyton White turned in a posterizing dunk, but the Lopes responded with back-to-back threes to make it 23-16 at the 7:05 mark.
“Peyton White’s dunk was better,” Camper said of the freshman’s dunk compared to his own in the second half. Nevada had a few highlight reel scores in the paint.
Camper was the first to score a three for Nevada after going 0-3 from that spot. Nevada finished the first half shooting 40 percent from three and 48 percent from the field. GCU turned in 41 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep. Camper also led the first half with 12 points on 4-5 shooting.
Second Half
Camper got Nevada back in with a three-pointer to open the second half. Tayshawn Comer followed with a layup to make a one-point game. A GCU turnover gave Vaughn Weems an open layup and Nevada took a 41-40 lead after just two minutes of the second half.
“My teammates trusted me and Vaughn,” Camper said after the game. “When things aren’t going our way, we rely on each other and Vaughn was out here with offensive boards, just trusting this man right here when it comes down to the final seconds.”
A few more turnovers by Nevada gave GCU a chance at a fast break dunk, but Jaden Henley missed the shot. Now, I may sound biased, but there was no contact on the play, and not only was Kaleb Lowery called for a foul, but it was also upgraded to a flagrant.
The game was tied at 42 for a while before a jumper gave GCU a two-point lead. It didn’t last long with Lowery turning in a layup to bring it back to 44-44. Camper then pulled off one of the best dunks over two defenders I’ve seen and picked up the and-one. It was enough to get Utah State fans riled up (Aggie fans’ hatred for GCU was enough for them to support Nevada in this one).
The game started to feel like the last time Nevada and GCU matched up in the overtime thriller in Reno that ended in a Pack win. It was a constant back-and-forth with whistles flying in between.
Nevada took a four-point lead with help from some free throws, but GCU closed the gap with a three-pointer to make it 55-54 Nevada with under 10 minutes left. The 11th turnover for Nevada allowed GCU to take the lead 56-55 shortly after.
In typical Mountain West fashion, this game included a lot of fouls throughout. In total, there were 41 total fouls called (24 by Nevada, 27 by GCU). The 86 free throw attempts were a record for most in Mountain West Tournament history.
“It puts a smile on,” Alford said about the free throws. “I love it when it comes down to free throws, I’m old school and I don’t want to get rid of the foul shot.”
Lowery got the energy high with a three to give Nevada another four-point lead before calling a timeout, sitting with a 68-64 lead with 5:28 to go. A few GCU turnovers and a foul allowed Nevada to extend that lead to 70-64. Two more free throws by Camper and it was a six-point game.
Lopes guard Makaih Williams hit a three-pointer under three minutes to cut it to a 72-71 Nevada lead. Price bumped it back up to 74-71 with two free throws.
Nevada got a much-needed turnover at the one-minute mark that allowed the Pack to slow the game down. Price was fouled again and went to the line for two with 37 seconds left. He missed the first one before making the second to push it to 77-73 Nevada.
Fouls were called on both sides in those final seconds, and after Comer made two free throws, GCU went down and scored a bucket to make it a three-point game again with 3.2 seconds. Comer was fouled on the inbound and made another two to seal it.
What’s Next
Nevada will play in its first semifinal game since 2021. It won’t be an easy matchup as the Pack will face the No. 1 Utah State Aggies at 6:30 p.m. PST here at the Thomas & Mack.
It’ll be another hostile environment, as Utah State fans travelled well today.