Martin with 24 as Nevada holds off New Mexico 77-74

Dec 31, 2017, 12:54 am

RENO, Nev. -- Caleb Martin poured in 24 points, scored on successive possessions in the last two minutes and Lindsey Drew swatted away a potential game-tying shot with two seconds to go as Nevada held off New Mexico 77-74 on Saturday.

Jordan Caroline added 21 points and 10 rebounds, his 20th double-double, for the Wolf Pack (13-3, 2-0 Mountain West), Drew scored 13. Nevada is 19-1 in games where Caroline double-doubles.

New Mexico (6-9, 1-1) was inbounding from under the basket with 2.3 seconds remaining. Sam Longwood got the ball to McNeal in the corner, but his 3-pointer was slapped out of bounds by Drew.

Trailing 42-34 at the half, New Mexico tied 70-70 after a 7-0 run capped by back-to-back Anthony Mathis 3-pointers with 4:55 to play. Martin answered with a jumper and scored the last six Nevada points from the field. Caroline added a free throw with 17 seconds left.

Mathis, 17 points on five 3-pointers, and McNeal came up empty as the Lobos missed twice from distance in the last seven seconds.