Louisiana Tech snaps Nevada's win streak with 99-97 overtime win

RENO -- Louisiana Tech led the entire game, shot better the entire game, and simply played better the entire game. Still, the Bulldogs nearly let one slip away after Nevada went on 16-5 run at the end of regulation to send the game into overtime.

But Bruce Edwards hit a running 10-footer with six seconds remaining and Terrance Green missed two free throws with two seconds left as Louisiana Tech won 99-97 in front of 7,961 fans on Saturday night at Lawlor Events Center.

"I'm mad like everyone else," said guard Todd Okeson, who scored 15 points. "We're not suppose to drop any at home. We got down early. They executed and we didn't."

The Bulldogs (12-9 overall, 9-5 WAC) snapped the Wolf Pack's 10-game home winning streak. The Wolf Pack, who never led in regulation, lost for the second time in overtime this season. Jerry Petty felt good about his team's chances in overtime.

"I felt pretty good about that," said Petty, who also scored 15 points. "We dug ourselves a hole and we couldn't pull it out."

Petty's driving layup with 4:44 left in OT gave Nevada's its first lead of the game, 89-87. But Antonio Meeking, as he did most of the game, punished the Wolf Pack's post players for two consecutive baskets to put the Bulldogs up 91-89.

Petty's three-point play with 1:21 left gave the Wolf Pack their final lead, 96-95.

Terrance Green, who scored a season high 31 points in the loss, drove to basket with time winding down and threw up a shot that went in and was fouled on the play. But referee Brian Sorenson said Green was fouled on the floor, which negated the basket, and he was sent to the line for a chance to tie the game and send it into a second overtime.

Green, who was 10-of-12 from the foul line until that point, missed the first one and was forced to miss the second for a chance at a putback. Garry Hill-Thomas got the rebound and his shot fell short as time expired.

"I know I was fouled in the air," said Green, who scored 29 in a win over SMU on Thursday. "It was our fault for putting ourselves in that situation. We just gotta' learn from our mistakes."

When the game ended, Nevada coach Trent Johnson chased Sorenson across the court, waving a finger in his face as bottles and other trash were thrown from the stands at the officiating crew as they left the court.

While the call will remain debatable, the stats can't be.

Nevada, which had son six straight, was only 37-of-56 (66 percent) from the foul line and shot only 40 percent from the field. The Wolf Pack's 56 free throw attempts set a new WAC record for attempts in a single game.

"Some nights you're on, some night you're not," Okeson said of the poor foul shooting. "Tonight, we were way off."

Louisiana Tech, which has now won seven straight, broke down the Wolf Pack defense all game. Its guards combined for 50 points and Meeking had 28 points. The Bulldogs, who outscored Nevada 46-31 in the paint, shot 50 percent from the field.

"You can't point out one thing. A lot of things hurt us tonight," Petty said.

Louisiana Tech led 47-38 at halftime and had several double digit leads in the second half. The Wolf Pack (14-9, 9-4) cut the lead to five, 56-41, early in the second before the Bulldogs took a 65-52 lead, their largest of the half. Nevada was able to cut it to seven on a few occasions, but Louisiana Tech responded each time.

"They were hitting shots with hands in their faces," Petty said. "They were just on tonight."

The Bulldogs led 82-71 before Nevada went on its game-ending run to force overtime. LaVelle Felton scored 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting for Louisiana Tech. Hill-Thomas had 10 for Nevada.

Notes....The 97 points scored was the most the Wolf Pack has scored since the 1996-97 season. They scored 107 against North Texas in that season. Terrance Green became the school's record holder for 3-point field goals made in a career. He now has 189. Saturday night's game was the Bulldogs first overtime game of the season. Nevada's home record is now 10-2. The Bulldogs won for just the third time on the road this season. They won at Fresno State on Thursday. Nevada is now 1 1/2 games back of first-place Fresno State in the standings and just a 1/2 game in front of third-place Louisiana Tech.