Boise State
8-9
Nevada
16-1
Upset Eludes Broncos, No. 10 Nevada Escapes with 72-71 Win
1/15/2019 11:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The Broncos (8-9, 3-1) came up just short against No. 10 Nevada (17-1, 4-1) Tuesday night at Taco Bell Arena, as Cody Martin hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with five seconds on the clock to give Nevada the lead at 72-71. The Broncos' last shot from Justinian Jessup to win the game came up short, giving the Wolf Pack the victory.
"The ball felt good when it left my hands," Martin said after the game. "I couldn't really see the rim, but we were working on contested shots before the game and that really helped me."
Nevada, which led 40-31 at halftime, seemed to have the game on cruise control early in the second half, never allowing the Broncos to get any closer than seven points, but the Wolf Pack remained in constant foul trouble. Starters Trey Porter and Caleb Martin were on the bench with four fouls with just over nine minutes remaining in the game.
Boise State took its first lead of the second half at 69-68 with 2:10 remaining on two free throws by Alex Hobbs. Cody Martin then tied the game hitting one of two from the line with 1:52 left. Hobbs then answered with a layup 10 seconds later to give the Broncos a 71-69 advantage. Nevada, however, turned up its defensive intensity and stifled two subsequent Boise State possessions, setting up Martin's game winner.
"Oh absolutely (this one hurt)," Boise State coach Leon Rice said. "You know, you played a great game to put yourself in the position to have a chance to beat them, and they made one more play than us."
Hobbs and Jessup paced Boise State with 19 and 17 points, respectively. Hobbs has tallied at least 17 points and five rebounds in each of the team's first four conference games. Jessup now has 185 career threes, putting him alone in eighth place in program history, passing Gerry Washington (184).
Jordan Caroline added 15 and grabbed 13 rebounds for Nevada while Porter added 12.
