No. 24 Aztecs fall at Nevada as old haunt bites them again

They had a bat problem inside Lawlor Events Center. There was an actual bat delay during a game earlier in the season when the winged critters began dive bombing players and coaches.

Nevada staff worked tirelessly with local wildlife authorities to remedy it, using a system of nets to capture them late at night and then releasing them into a more natural habitat than an 11,536-seat basketball arena. They caught 27.

So the bats are largely gone. But the ghosts remain, and the ones that haunted San Diego State here last year returned on Friday night — leading inside 20 seconds to go in regulation and by four points in overtime before losing 70-66.

Last year, similar heartbreak. Fought, scrapped, battled, persevered to lead by a point with just over four minutes left. Loss. Court storm.

“It’s a little frustrating,” Jaedon LeDee said, “because we had that game.”

The No. 24 Aztecs (18-6, 7-4) are now 0-4 on the road in the Mountain West in sold-out, crazed arenas and probably face a pair of must wins at home next week against Colorado State and New Mexico if they hope to repeat as regular-season conference champions.

It was a gritty, gutsy effort on a night when, after three games of lights-out shooting, the 3-ball wouldn’t fall. But they couldn’t get stops or, more specifically, they couldn’t get rebounds after making stops when they needed it the most.

Second-chance points: 15-6, Wolf Pack.

There’s your ball game, right there.

Nevada (19-5, 6-4) got offensive rebounds on its final two possessions of regulation, the first leading to a pair of made free throws and the second, with 8.5 seconds left, leading to the basket that forced overtime.

Kenan Blackshear (22 points) missed a 3, and the rebound rolled through the key. Nick Davidson picked it up, scored and was fouled. He missed the free throw, and 5-foot-10 Darrion Trammell had his shot to win it blocked by 6-6 Daniel Foster — OT.

“Their ability to get second-chance opportunities won them the game,” said SDSU coach Brian Dutcher, whose team outrebounded the Wolf Pack 44-25 in the first meeting last month at Viejas Arena but lost the battle of the boards Friday. “We got initial stops, but they got offensive rebounds and chances to put back. We missed shots and did not get putbacks at the end.

“It’s just a nose for the ball. There were some bouncing on the floor that they got to that, if we’re going to win, we have to get them. They were on the floor. These are not rebounds above the rim. These are rebounds taken off the floor. … I mean, the ball is on the floor. You have to get the ball.”

LeDee concurred.

“There were three or four balls rolling on the ground we have to jump on,” he said.

LeDee led the Aztecs with 20 points after a slow start and foul trouble, but he also had seven turnovers against the constant double teams every time he touched the ball. Trammell was the only other SDSU player in double figures with 11. Lamont Butler fouled out in regulation with five points, no rebounds and no assists in 20 minutes, robbing them of a defensive option against the 6-6 Blackshear.

The Aztecs never trailed by more than seven points and spent most of the second half down two, but they didn’t lead until 3:48 to go. From there, they got baskets from LeDee and Trammell plus a pair of free throws by Trammell. That put them up three inside a minute to go.

Nevada pulled within a point on Jarod Lucas’ free throws with 36.1 seconds left. LeDee was fouled and made one of two to make it a two-point game again.

Then came Blackshear’s miss and Davidson’s putback. Overtime.

The Aztecs took a quick four-point lead in the extra period, only to be outscored 10-2 over the closing 3½ minutes. LeDee looked exhausted, and he got little help from anyone else.

SDSU shot 1 of 5 in overtime. Nevada was 4 of 5.

The dagger came with 12 seconds left in OT, when Nevada drew up a play to get Lucas curling off the screen for a jumper. Blackshear, with the ball at the top, saw Tre Coleman cutting across the lane and called an audible, feeding him instead.

That’s Coleman, who was 1 of 9 shooting in the game.

But Coleman is also 6-7 and, with Butler fouled out, the 5-10 Trammell had not been subbed out at the previous timeout for defensive purposes.

“When I came off the screen and he threw it to me,” Coleman said. I knew I had Trammell on me, so I knew I could go to the post and get a layup up. It just shows his trust in me. That last play just shows who we are.”

Trammell missed a 3 at the other end, Blackshear was fouled on the rebound, and his two free throws created the final four-point margin (allowing Nevada to cover a 2.5-point betting spread).

On Tuesday, Nevada won at No. 22 Utah State for its first road win against a ranked opponent since 1981. Now it has back-to-back wins against a ranked opponent for the first time in school history.

“You had the No. 1 and No. 2 defenses in the Mountain West going at it tonight,” Nevada coach Steve Alford said. “That’s what it was, a defensive battle. Every shot was contested. It was hard. It was hard fought. ... We told them the teams that have had success against them have got 10-plus offensive rebounds. We got 11 tonight.”

The other difference: After breaking out of a shooting slump from 3, making a blistering 46 percent over their last three games, the Aztecs returned to previous form at 3 of 19.

“When you’re missing jump shots, you wish you’d take it to the basket and get to the foul line,” Dutcher said. “But that didn’t happen. The players dictate the shots they think they’re going to make and take. I can’t micromanage that, but we have to make one of those if we plan on winning on the road.”

Notable

Next up: Tuesday vs. Colorado State (6 p.m., CBS Sports Network) … This was the second “stripe-out” for an SDSU road game this season. Blue and white T-shirts were placed in alternating sections by a crew of 17 that took six hours. The other stripe out was at New Mexico … SDSU kept the same starting lineup as in Tuesday’s win at Air Force, starting four guards and LeDee. But in both halves, after surrendering a pair of offensive boards, Dutcher quickly sent in 6-9 Jay Pal to give them more size ... The Aztecs had only three points in the first eight-plus minutes and didn’t make a 2-pointer until 10 minutes into the game. LeDee didn’t make a basket for the first 13 minutes ...

It was only SDSU’s fifth loss over the last five Februarys. The Aztecs are now 27-5 in the month ... One of the officials was Marques Pettigrew, who normally works in the Big 12 and rarely comes out West. The Aztecs last saw him in the NCAA Tournament, in the Sweet 16 against No. 1 overall seed Alabama … It was a whistle-happy game. There were 10 more fouls (54) than baskets (44) ... It was a sloppy game, too, with both teams committing 16 turnovers …The Aztecs had 20 offensive boards in the first game, and only six Friday. They also went from 15 fast-break points to five.