In stunning fashion, Nevada men’s basketball was eliminated from the Mountain West Tournament on March 5 at the hands of the Wyoming Cowboys. The match was played in Las Vegas, at the Thomas and Mack Center.

Leading the Pack offensively was Lindsey Drew. The senior scored 19 points in his final MWC Tournament appearance. 

Right behind the senior was junior Jalen Harris, who scored 17 points in the loss. Harris also recovered nine rebounds—all were defensive.

The top overall scorer on the court was Wyoming’s Kwane Marble II, who picked up 24 points in the Cowboys’ victory. 

Wyoming will move on to play Utah State on March 6. 

Although Wyoming struck first to open the match—a layup from Trevon Taylor—Nevada came out of the locker room red hot. The Pack opened the match on a 13-6 run, to take the lead over the first four minutes of the contest.

The Cowboys battled back as the 10-minute mark ticked by, taking a one-point lead over the Wolf Pack with 9:47 left to play in the half.

After the Cowboys and Pack again tied it up just prior to the nine-minute mark, Wyoming went on to have a 5-0 run to take the lead over the next minute. 

The scoring streak sparked the Nevada squad, responding with a 12-0 that lasted roughly the next four minutes. 

As the half came to a close, Nevada and Wyoming traded blows, but the Pack kept its lead over the Cowboys. When the buzzer struck at the half, Nevada led Wyoming, 43-33.

Nevada continued their offensive streak to open the second half, sprinting off to a 5-3 run to open the half. The run didn’t seem to slow down the Cowboys though, immediately responding with an 8-2 to cut into the Pack’s lead.

Thanks to two successful free throws from freshman K.J. Hymes, Nevada took back their 10-point lead with just over 13 minutes left to play in the match. Both Nevada and Wyoming struggled for nearly a three-minute stretch, as either team failed to hit from the floor as the game ticked from the 13-minute mark to the 10-minute mark. Wyoming’s Marble II finally broke the silent streak, hitting on a layup from the paint. 

Wyoming clawed back into the match as the game approached the final seven minutes of play. Hunter Thompson hit both of his free throw attempts after being picking up a controversial foul against Harris. The two successful free throws brought Wyoming to within three points of the Pack. 

The Cowboys came alive as the game entered the final four minutes. Marble III drove to the basket to give Wyoming a three-point lead. A free throw from Thompson gave the Cowboys the lead just a possession earlier. 

As the match entered the final 70 seconds of play, Nevada was down four points. A three-point shot from Drew brought the Pack to within a single point. 

With the ball back in the Cowboy’s hands, the Pack played a smothering style of defense, forcing a Wyoming turnover. With the gained opportunity, Nevada crashed the glass but failed to secure a point.

The Cowboys stretched their lead to three with nine seconds left. Nevada had one final opportunity as the game came to close, but failed to convert. Nevada fell to Wyoming, 74-71. 

Ryan Freeberg can be reached at rfreeberg@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @SagebrushSports.