LAS VEGAS - Nevada came within one possession of taking the next step towards keeping its Mountain West Championship title hopes alive, but Kenan Blackshear's 3-pointer was off the mark, and the Wolf Pack's time in Las Vegas came to a close with a 71-69 defeat to top-seeded Boise State Thursday afternoon.

For the second-straight meeting, Nevada (13-18) trailed Boise State by double digits in the second half, only to get to within the final possession of stealing the lead. Boise State (25-7) got its lead to as many as 12 at 61-49 following Tyson Degenhart free throws with just under nine minutes to go, but the Pack whittled away at the deficit.

Grant Sherfield, who scored 25 points for the Pack, scored seven of the team's next nine points to get Nevada within four at 62-58 with 6:52 to go. The Pack continued to keep Boise State within range, staying close until getting to within two at 71-69 on Desmond Cambridge Jr.'s layup with a minute and a half to play.

But while the Nevada defense would stop the Broncos on its final two possessions, likewise the Bronco defense held up its end, as Abu Kigab blocked Sherfield's layup with 44 seconds to play, followed by Marcus Shaver Jr. grabbing the rebound as time expired following Blackshear's attempted go-ahead triple.

Cambridge Jr. scored 16 points to complement Sherfield's 25, while Warren Washington finished with 13 points on 5-of-9 shooting.

Shaver was 9-of-10 from the line for the Broncos, finishing with 15 points, while Emmanuel Akot led Boise State with 22.