University of Nevada Athletics

Box Score

LAS VEGAS - The Nevada men's basketball team has been down double-digits at halftime a number of times before during this championship season.

Most notably, the Wolf Pack trailed New Mexico by 13 at halftime - and by as many as 25 points in the second half - before rallying back for one of the greatest comeback victories ever in January.

So the 11-point deficit in Friday's Mountain West Championships semifinal matchup against fourth-seeded Fresno State didn't faze the top-seeded Wolf Pack. Nevada roared back in the final 20 minutes, using a 25-2 run to race past the Bulldogs and into Saturday's championship game with an 83-72 victory.

"We played our worst first half since we have been together and we probably played our best second half since we've been together," said second-year coach Eric Musselman.

Nevada shot 79.2 percent from the field in the second half and the Pack ran roughshod over Fresno State in the final 20 minutes. Marcus Marshall finished with 28 points and Cameron Oliver scored 27 points to lead the Wolf Pack to its first conference tournament championship game since it lost the 2008-09 WAC final at Lawlor Events Center in Reno.

The Wolf Pack will take on Colorado State at 3 p.m. at Thomas and Mack Center. The game will be televised by CBS and can be heard in Northern Nevada on FM 94.5 as Ryan Radtke and Len Stevens will have the call. The winner will not only win the championship, but the automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament that comes with it.

After beating Utah State in the quarterfinals on Thursday, Nevada had to wait to see who would advance between Fresno State and New Mexico.

"These guys wanted to play Fresno. We got on the bus last night and they were happy that we were getting another chance to play Fresno," Musselman said.

Fresno State handed Nevada (27-6) two of its losses earlier this season, by one in Fresno and by five in the rematch in Reno. When the Bulldogs advanced through the quarterfinals, the stage was set. Unfortunately, Nevada took its time taking the stage.

The Wolf Pack could not get shots to fall and was turning the ball over at an alarming pace in the first half. The result was a 32-21 deficit as the Wolf Pack made its way to the locker room. Oliver took charge from there.

"I just told the guys, `Have pride,'" the sophomore leader said, noting that the Pack drew inspiration from previous comebacks this season. "Twenty minutes is a very long time. We kept our heads up and got the win."

Said Marshall: "At halftime, it was like, we've been in those situations before. Coach told us to button down on defense and improved out shot selection. We didn't want to lose an opportunity like this."

The teams traded basked for a few minutes early and with less than 16 minutes to play, Nevada found itself trailing 40-31.

And that's when the run began.

Marshall buried a three-pointer and would score eight points during the run, with Oliver burying two shots from beyond the arc, and five minutes later, Nevada had a 47-40 advantage.

A Fresno State layup ended the 16-0 run but Nevada kept pouring it on. Another three-ball from Marshall keyed a 9-0 spurt as Nevada's 25-2 stretch of dominance over seven and a half minutes gave the Pack control of the game.

"We just played hard. It's incredible that we shot 79 percent. That's crazy," Oliver said.

"When we are hitting those shots and seeing Coach Muss waving his arms, that's just fun. Basketball is supposed to be fun."

Jordan Carolina recorded another double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. A sneaky X-factor in the win was the play of freshman Josh Hall off the bench. He scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds and made a number of crucial plays.

"Josh was just phenomenal," Musselman said. "He hung around the basket and his baskets were critical, and at critical times."

It all added up to a big win for the Wolf Pack and an opportunity to win the tournament championship on Saturday.