March 22, 2024

Nevada’s Unforgettable Season Ends with Heartbreaking Loss in NCAA Tournament

Courtesy of Nevada Athletics

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Nevada Men’s Basketball team’s remarkable season – which consisted of 26 victories, three wins over AP ranked opponents, and the Pack’s second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance – ended Thursday evening, as Nevada sustained a heartbreaking 63-60 loss at the hands of No. 7 Dayton in the First Round of the West Region of the NCAA Tournament.

Nevada completed the season with an overall record of 26-8, marking a tie for the eighth-most victories in a single season in program history.

The Pack led by as many as 17 points in the second half of the contest against Dayton; however, Nevada struggled down the stretch, as they allowed the Flyers to go on a massive 24-4 run to close out the game and earn a three-point victory over Nevada.

Playing in what was their final collegiate game, Jarod Lucas and Kenan Blackshear led the way offensively for the Pack.

Lucas scored a team-high 17 points and pulled down four rebounds. The fifth-year senior buried three 3-pointers, as he wrapped up what has been a remarkable career. Lucas has been exceptional for Nevada over the past two seasons, and he has etched his name into the Nevada Basketball record books for numerous different accomplishments.

Blackshear scored 15 points on 7-14 shooting from the field, while also dishing out eight assists and recording two steals. Like Lucas, Blackshear has been sensational for Nevada during his time with the Pack and will forever go down as one of the program’s premier point guards.

Nick Davidson had an impressive performance for Nevada, as he scored 15 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Davidson knocked down 2-5 shots from behind the arc, and he recorded three steals in the contest.

Nevada shot 43.1 percent from the field and 31.8 percent from behind the arc throughout the game.

The Pack led for 21 minutes and 35 seconds in the contest, while trailing for 16 minutes and eight seconds.

First Half

Nevada got off to a slow start, falling behind 5-0 during the first 54 seconds of the contest. Davidson opened up the scoring for the Pack, finishing a contested left-handed layup at the rim.

Dayton answered with a bucket shortly after, as they took a 7-2 lead over Nevada at the 17:08 mark.

Tre Coleman recorded an impressive steal and found Davidson open, who proceeded to throw down a vicious dunk, trimming the deficit to three points.

The Flyers scored another basket to extend their advantage back up to five points at the 16:28 mark, as they held a 9-4 lead over the Pack.

A quick 7-2 run by Nevada evened up the contest at 11 points apiece, just over five minutes into the game. The run began with a Coleman 3-pointer; and, after the Flyers finished a layup, Coleman drove to the basket and converted a difficult layup through contact. Blackshear then scored his first points of the game on a turnaround mid-range jumper to even up the score.

Nevada took their first lead of the game at the 12:36 mark, as Davidson knocked down a lone free throw, giving the Pack a 14-13 advantage over Dayton.

The Flyers responded by outscoring Nevada 11-5 over the next 5:30 game time, as they built a 25-18 lead over the Pack, marking their largest lead of the game.

Nevada had a tremendous answer, reeling off a 16-0 run to close out the first half. The run began with a Coleman 3-pointer off a beautiful pass from Tylan Pope. Shortly after Coleman’s bucket from behind the arc, Lucas buried a step back mid-range jumper, bringing the Pack within two points of Dayton.

Blackshear then knocked down a lone free throw, before Lucas and Davidson drilled back-to-back 3-pointers, as Nevada took a 30-25 lead. Davidson then made a mid-range floater, and Blackshear closed out the half in exceptional fashion, splashing a contested fadeaway jumper to beat the buzzer and send the Pack into halftime with a 34-25 lead.

Nevada shot 48.3 percent from the field and 44.4 percent from behind the arc in the first period, while limiting Dayton to just 41.7 percent shooting from the field and 25.0 percent from behind the arc.

Second Half

The Flyers opened the scoring in the second period, as they converted a layup in the paint to trim Nevada’s lead down to seven points with 18:35 to go.

23 seconds later, Davidson finished a bucket in the lane to push the lead back up to nine points. Davidson then recorded a steal on defense, and Blackshear buried a mid-range jumper on the other end of the court, giving the Pack an 11-point lead with 17:47 on the clock, marking Nevada’s first double-digit lead of the game.

After Dayton made a pair of free throws, Lucas and Blackshear scored back-to-back buckets, as the Pack built a 42-29 edge over the Flyers.

Nevada expanded their lead up to 14 points after K.J. Hymes made a lone free throw at the 15:22 mark.

The Flyers scored four consecutive points to cut the Pack’s lead down to 10; however, Davidson drilled a 3-pointer, as Nevada took a 46-33 lead with 11:48 remaining in the game.

Nevada increased their lead to 15 points at the 10:04 mark after a ferocious dunk from Pope.

Dayton knocked down a 3-pointer to trim the lead down to 12; but, Lucas drained a mid-range jumper, before splashing a 3-pointer, giving Nevada a 56-39 lead with 7:39 left in the contest.

The Flyers responded with a 17-0 run over the next four minutes and 54 seconds of game time, as the two squads found themselves deadlocked at 56-56 with 2:45 on the clock.

Lucas ended the extensive drought for the Pack, draining a mid-range floater, as the Pack recaptured the lead with 2:16 to go.

15 seconds later, Dayton converted an and-one opportunity, as the Flyers took a 59-58 lead over Nevada with just over two minutes remaining.

Blackshear then drilled a clutch bucket, as he knocked down a mid-range jumper with just 1:03 left in the game, giving Nevada a 60-59 edge.

The Flyers scored on the other end to retake the lead; and, after a turnover by the Pack with 16 seconds on the clock, Nevada was forced to foul.

Dayton knocked down two free throws to extend their lead to three points with 15 seconds remaining. Nevada had two opportunities to tie the game on the final possessions; but, the Pack was unable to convert, as they fell to Dayton in heartbreaking fashion.

The loss marked the end of an incredible season for Nevada.

Notable Stats

Nevada recorded eight steals throughout the contest.
Jarod Lucas, Kenan Blackshear, and Nick Davidson combined to score 47 of the Pack’s 60 points.
Daniel Foster tallied two blocks in the game.
The Pack pulled down eight offensive rebounds throughout the contest.
Nevada scored 16 points off 12 Dayton turnovers.