RENO - A high bounce proved fatal for Nevada, and cost the Pack a chance to defend their WAC Tournament crown.
Jermaine Blackburn scored on a putback with 1.8 seconds left to give Boise State a stunning 73-72 win over 24th-ranked Nevada in the quarterfinals Thursday night at Lawlor Events Center.
It was the second biggest upset in the conference tournament. Back in 1990, ninth-seeded Air Force beat top-seeded Colorado State.
Trailing 72-70 with 12.3 seconds left, Coby Karl drove the length of the court, and was fouled by Kevinn Pinkney. Karl hit the first of two shots to make it 72-71. Karl missed the second shot. The ball took a high bounce off the right side of the rim, and Blackburn picked it up and scored.
With 1.1 seconds left, Nevada tried a long inbounds pass that Ramon Sessions caught with just enough time to heave a desperation shot that bounced off the backboard, possibly ending Nevada's season.
"I didn't want to give up on the play," Blackburn said. "The ball just fell into my hands. When the ball is in your hands, you shoot it."
"He hit probably the sweetest shot of the season," Boise State coach Greg Graham said.
The Pack finished 24-6, and now must wait until Sunday to see if the NCAA selection committee thinks it deserves a spot in the 65-team field. No doubt it will be an agonizing time.
The win by Boise State was its first win over a ranked team since it beat the University of Washington back in 1998. The Broncos are 15-17, and will face Fresno State tonight at 8:30 in the semifinals.
"We just got beat," Nevada coach Mark Fox said. "I did a poor job of coaching this team. Our defense was an embarrassment. We weren't sharp. We were terrible in transition.
"Anybody can win this tournament. I said that before. It's easier to be the best team over three days than it is for a season."
It was a bitter end. Nevada had gone on an 8-0 run to take a 71-68 lead with 25.9 left. The Pack had held BSU scoreless for more than four minutes. Jason Ellis hit two free throws to make it 71-70, but Mo Charlo countered with a free throw to make it 72-70 with 12.3 left.
The Pack had plenty of chances in the last five minutes, but missed free throws, one each by Charlo, Pinkney and Sessions were costly.
"Free throws can kill you," Nick Fazekas said. "We've seen it before. We've lost games because of it."
BSU made Fazekas' job extremely difficult. He went without a field goal in the first half for the first time all year and finished with a team-high 18 points, 16 in the second half.
"We tried to do the same thing we did to him at our place," Graham said. "I thought at our place we kept his shooting percentage low. We just wanted to make him work, and we did that."
Especially in the first half.
Nevada trailed 36-35 at the half, as the Broncos got three-pointers from Karl, Franco Harris and Blackburn in the last 2:40 to spark an 11-4 run. Karl finished the half with 12 points, going 5 for 7 from the floor.
The key was the Broncos' defense on Fazekas and Pinkney, the top Nevada players. They combined for just four points, scoring two each.
Fazekas hit two free throws just 3 1/2 minutes into the game. It's the first time he's gone without a field goal in the first half. Boise State put plenty of bodies on Fazekas, and it frustrated the 6-11 sophomore. He ran over Karl in the key to pick up his second foul with 1:12 left in the half.
Pinkney didn't score in the last 14-plus minutes of the half.
Fortunately, their teammates picked up the slack to keep the Pack in the game.
Jermaine Washington scored nine points and pulled down five offensive rebounds, including three on one possession. Chad Bell (10 points) hit four field goals for eight points, three of the buckets coming on mid-range jump shots. Mo Charlo went 6 for 9, including two dunks, to lead Nevada with 12 points. He finished with 17.