Nevada just would not give up Friday night. After stalking first-place Boise State all night, the Pack made its move in the final minute, capped by Grant Sherfield's fadeaway jumper with 2.9 seconds left, to capture the series opener, 74-72, at Lawlor Events Center.

And when RayJ Dennis' 35-footer at the buzzer rimmed out, the Pack could celebrate a statement win, and its ninth in the last 10 meetings over the Broncos.

Nevada (13-7, 8-5 MW) got the performances it needed from its top-two scorers in Desmond Cambridge, Jr. (21 points on 8-for-14 shooting, four 3-pointers) and Grant Sherfield (double-double of 20 points and a career-high 14 assists) in a game which featured seven ties and eight lead changes, and never saw the teams separated by more than six points. And once again, the Pack bench shined, as forward K.J. Hymes was 7-for-8 from the field, throwing down 17 points on the Bronco bigs.

Derrick Alston led the Broncos with 23 points, going 9-of-14 from the field with five triples. Emmanuel Akot scored 19 off the bench while Abu Kigab had 15 with five rebounds.

The Pack trailed, 33-28, at halftime, and chased the Broncos (14-3, 10-2 MW) for all but the final minute of the second half before pulling ahead. Nevada came with a point of Boise State four times, and trailed by as many as six, 53-47, with 10 minutes remaining.

But the Pack's hot hands came into play. Nevada shot a blazing 64.3 percent (18-for-28) over the final 20 minutes, with Cambridge, Jr., Sherfield, and Hymes combining to go 15-for-21 for 36 points.

Trailing 65-60 with just under six minutes to go, the Pack made its kick. Cambridge, Jr. knocked down a triple to cut the deficit to two, and Hymes bullied his way inside yet again, scoring from five feet, to even it up at 65-65.

Boise State took the lead twice more, the final time on Akot's fourth triple of the game with 2:42 to go, making it 70-67, but Cambridge, Jr. answered with his fourth trey to bring the Pack level again.

From there, Sherfield would take over, hitting a short jumper with 55 seconds left to give the Pack its first lead of the half at 72-70, then answering Dennis' banker off the high glass with a drive inside and a fadeaway over the Bronco guard for the winning points.

Nevada will go for the sweep in Sunday's finale, set for a 1 p.m. tip on FS1.