Another close setback against Nevada

And all the drama came after the Lobos took a 76-75 lead with 18 seconds remaining on the clock. Wolf Pack head coach Steve Alford called a time out, and what he called for, worked.

The ball went into Kenan Blackshear’s hands and he turned to the basket and sent the ball its way, where it lightly touched the side of the right rim and settled into the net.

The officials through had to call for a review on whether the bucket was good, as it was, and Alford and his assistant Craig Neal, two former UNM head coaches, are now 9-0 since leaving that program.

Leading scorer, senior Jarod Lucas again led the way with 28 points. Redshirt freshman Nick Davidson brought down seven rebounds, and junior Daniel Foster dished out six assists as Nevada moved into second place behind San Diego State.

It was the 3rd straight win for the Wolf Pack and put it at 19-6 overall and 9-3 in the conference. San Diego is at 18-5 and 9-2, and Utah State and Boise State remain in the race for the top spot and a berth in the NCAA tournament’s March Madness.

Utah State and Boise State are both 8-3 in conference play, with the Utes at 19-5overall and the Broncos at 18-6. Tonight, San Diego State is at Utah State and UNLV (15-8, 4-7) is at last place Wyoming (7-15, 2-8).

And the Lobos have dropped to 6-5 in the conference and 19-5 overall with their second loss in a row. They had a team-high 21 points from junior Jamal Mashburn, and he also handed out the team-best six assists, while senior Morris Udeze took down nine boards to go with 18 points, and senior Jamal House also tossed in 18 points.

UNM has six more regular-season games starting for a visit to the Air Force (12-13, 3-9) on Thursday. Nevada has seven more and is home to Fresno State Saturday.

The Wolf Pack won the previous contest in double overtime when it played host to New Mexico.

This one was before a near capacity turnout of 15,004. And similar to the lengthy  previous one, it was played down to the final buzzer. The short jumper by Mashburn brought the 76-75 lead and gave Nevada another chance.

It was thought that Lucas would take possession and look for an opening, but Foster tossed the ball to Blackshear, who looked for Lucas then wheeled and took the shot himself.

As he walked down the ramp at the Pit, the crowd greeted Alford with a nasty reception, but he was just calm and all business. There were a loud round of boos probably also directed at Neal, but mostly at Alford, the former All-America under Bob Knight at Indiana who first left UNM for the same role at UCLA.

It was where he always said he wanted to be, and the Bruins made his family right at home with a neat contract and residence in Hollywood Hills. And if the Lobo fans didn’t like it, they showed it every time he returned to the Pit.

His Wolf Pack led 45-41 at halftime, and Lucas was at times the one who silenced the rowdy fans. In the final three minutes he netted a 3-pointer from the wing to knot the score at 70-all. Then he brought down a defensive rebound at the other end and quickly cashed in with a mid-range floater and make for another classic finish.

The home team was 24-for-52 from the floor and 24-for-28 from the foul line. The Wolf Pack made good on 29-for-58 from the field and 8-for-10 from the charity stripe, so the Lobos managed to keep it close with freebies.

Nevada was 11-for-22 from beyond the ark, with Lucas good on 6-of-9 tries. The Lobos were only 4-for-16. Mashburn handed out six assists and Udeze took down 11 rebounds. For the Wolf Pack, Foster had seven assists and Davidson eight boards.

And that was just another encounter with Alford and Neal that fell short. New Mexico supporters can boo them all they want, but it doesn’t take away their success against their program.