Nevada Makes Historic 25-Point Comeback To Earn 105-104 OT Win Over New Mexico

After three quarters of play during the Nevada Wolf Pack’s road game against the New Mexico Lobos Saturday night, nearly all hope seemed to be lost for the visitors.

Nevada Makes Historic 25-Point Comeback To Earn 105-104 OT Win Over New Mexico

Nevada won 105-104 in overtime despite trailing by 25 points with 11 minutes remaining in regulation, by 19 with four minutes left and by 14 with just over one minute to go.

Sophomore Jordan Caroline buried a go-ahead pull-up 3-pointer from the left wing with 2.9 seconds remaining in overtime to secure the Wolf Pack’s thrilling comeback victory. Caroline’s game winner gave Nevada its first lead since the first three minutes of the opening half.

“I’ve coached in college, in the NBA, internationally, and I’ve never seen anything like that,” Wolf Pack coach Eric Musselman said. “The biggest benefit of it is now our guys know that we can come back from any deficit. I’m 52, and it’s a lesson for me that anything is possible in sports.”

Musselman pulled leading scorer Marcus Marshall with a few minutes remaining, hoping to give the senior guard some extra rest rather than risk injury in a game that already seemed decided.

 The coach’s view hadn’t changed as the Lobos’ Jalen Harris raced up-court with a 14-point lead and 70 seconds to play. Only after Caroline poked the ball away from behind and fed walk-on Charlie Tooley for a transition 3-pointer did Musselman think it was logical to put Marshall back in. Nevada scored five more 3s in the final minute, four of them from Marshall.

“He’s as good a late-game shot maker as I’ve ever been around including NBA players,” Musselman said. “He takes the shots where you go, ‘Oh no … Yes!’”

The 11-point deficit Nevada erased in under 60 seconds marked the second-largest last-minute comeback in college basketball history. Texas A&M set the record during the second round of the NCAA tournament last March when it exploded back from 12 points down to stun Northern Iowa.

The heroics of Marshall and Caroline kept Nevada (14-3, 3-1) within a game of first-place Boise State in the Mountain West standings.

ST LOUIS, MO – MARCH 21: Hugh Greenwood #3 of the New Mexico Lobos slides to grab a loose ball against Dwight Powell #33 of the Stanford Cardinal in the second half during the second round of the 2014 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Scottrade Center on March 21, 2014 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Article by Pablo Mena