Saturday, March 21
Reno, Nev.
9:00 PM ET/6:00 PM PT
Liberty University
26-8,17-3CUSA
63
at
73
Nevada
24-12,12-8Mountain West
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
Liberty
31
32
63
Nevada
35
38
73
Nevada Closes on 15-2 Run to Top Liberty 73-63 in NIT 2nd Round
3/21/2026 11:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball
RENO, Nev. – No. 2 seed Nevada closed the game on a 15-2 run to top Liberty 73-63 in the second round of the 2026 NIT, Saturday evening at the Lawlor Events Center.
The Flames see their 2025-26 season end with a 26-8 record. Liberty (11-3) suffers only its third road loss of the year. The Wolf Pack improve to 24-12 overall and 17-2 at home. Nevada advances to the quarterfinals, where it will face either No. 1 seed Auburn (18-16) or Seattle U (21-13) on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Liberty is the final Conference USA team to see its season come to an end. Sophomore Brett Decker Jr. scored a game-high 20 points for the Flames. Senior Zach Cleveland, playing in his final game in a Liberty uniform, recorded 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal.
Nevada's Corey Camper Jr. (10 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) notched a triple-double, and Elijah Price added a double-double of 15 points and 10 boards.
Liberty is 2-2 all-time in the NIT and has reached the second round twice in the last four years (other: 2023).
Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Brett Decker Jr. 20 points, 6-13 FG, 6-6 FT; Zach Cleveland 16 points, 6-12 FG, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal; JJ Harper 14 points, 6-11 FG, 3 steals; Josh Smith 7 points, 3-4 FG, 4 rebounds
Nevada Individuals: Elijah Price 15 points, 5-8 FG, 5-6 FT, 10 rebounds; Corey Camper Jr. 10 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists (triple-double), Joel Armotrading 10 points, 6-6 FT, 2 blocks; Tayshawn Comer 10 points, 3 assists; Vaughn Weems 10 points, 5-10 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished the night at 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the field and made a season-low five threes on 22 attempts (22.7 percent). The Flames were 75 percent (12-of-16) from the free throw line. Nevada was 19-of-20 (95 percent) from the free throw line, 46.3 percent (25-of-54) from the field and 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from deep. The Flames committed a season-low four turnovers, compared to 10 for the Wolf Pack. Nevada's biggest advantage was in rebounding, 42-23. The Wolf Pack led in assists (18-15), second chance points (16-3), bench points (21-3) and fast break points (8-4). Liberty led 36-34 in points in the paint. Nevada held the lead for 24:32, compared to 13:44 for Liberty.
Turning Point
Liberty trailed by double digits, 46-36, at the 15:44 mark of the second half. The Flames used an 11-0 run to surge ahead 54-50 with 9:54 left, capped off by a Colin Porter go-ahead three and JJ Harper three-point play.
Nevada evened the game at 58-all at the 5:22 mark, but the Flames' Brett Decker Jr. hit a big three-pointer with 4:57 on the clock to regain the lead, 61-58. From that point on, the Wolf Pack closed on a 15-2 run to capture the victory. Nevada was 6-of-6 from the foul line to take the lead, with Corey Camper's two makes putting the hosts ahead 64-61 with 2:38 to go. On the Wolf Pack's next trip down the court, Tayshawn Comer buried a key three-pointer to push the lead up to 67-61 with 1:54 remaining. Liberty only made one of its final nine field goals down the stretch. Nevada was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the final minute.
Key Stats & Notes
The Flames see their 2025-26 season end with a 26-8 record. Liberty (11-3) suffers only its third road loss of the year. The Wolf Pack improve to 24-12 overall and 17-2 at home. Nevada advances to the quarterfinals, where it will face either No. 1 seed Auburn (18-16) or Seattle U (21-13) on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Liberty is the final Conference USA team to see its season come to an end. Sophomore Brett Decker Jr. scored a game-high 20 points for the Flames. Senior Zach Cleveland, playing in his final game in a Liberty uniform, recorded 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists, two blocks and a steal.
Nevada's Corey Camper Jr. (10 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists) notched a triple-double, and Elijah Price added a double-double of 15 points and 10 boards.
Liberty is 2-2 all-time in the NIT and has reached the second round twice in the last four years (other: 2023).
Score Highlights
Liberty Individuals: Brett Decker Jr. 20 points, 6-13 FG, 6-6 FT; Zach Cleveland 16 points, 6-12 FG, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal; JJ Harper 14 points, 6-11 FG, 3 steals; Josh Smith 7 points, 3-4 FG, 4 rebounds
Nevada Individuals: Elijah Price 15 points, 5-8 FG, 5-6 FT, 10 rebounds; Corey Camper Jr. 10 points, 13 rebounds, 10 assists (triple-double), Joel Armotrading 10 points, 6-6 FT, 2 blocks; Tayshawn Comer 10 points, 3 assists; Vaughn Weems 10 points, 5-10 FG
Key Team Stats: Liberty finished the night at 40.4 percent (23-of-57) from the field and made a season-low five threes on 22 attempts (22.7 percent). The Flames were 75 percent (12-of-16) from the free throw line. Nevada was 19-of-20 (95 percent) from the free throw line, 46.3 percent (25-of-54) from the field and 4-of-17 (23.5 percent) from deep. The Flames committed a season-low four turnovers, compared to 10 for the Wolf Pack. Nevada's biggest advantage was in rebounding, 42-23. The Wolf Pack led in assists (18-15), second chance points (16-3), bench points (21-3) and fast break points (8-4). Liberty led 36-34 in points in the paint. Nevada held the lead for 24:32, compared to 13:44 for Liberty.
Turning Point
Liberty trailed by double digits, 46-36, at the 15:44 mark of the second half. The Flames used an 11-0 run to surge ahead 54-50 with 9:54 left, capped off by a Colin Porter go-ahead three and JJ Harper three-point play.
Nevada evened the game at 58-all at the 5:22 mark, but the Flames' Brett Decker Jr. hit a big three-pointer with 4:57 on the clock to regain the lead, 61-58. From that point on, the Wolf Pack closed on a 15-2 run to capture the victory. Nevada was 6-of-6 from the foul line to take the lead, with Corey Camper's two makes putting the hosts ahead 64-61 with 2:38 to go. On the Wolf Pack's next trip down the court, Tayshawn Comer buried a key three-pointer to push the lead up to 67-61 with 1:54 remaining. Liberty only made one of its final nine field goals down the stretch. Nevada was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the final minute.
Key Stats & Notes
- Over the last four years, Liberty has posted a 99-38 overall record, one conference title and three conference regular season crowns.
- Seniors Zach Cleveland, Colin Porter, Kaden Metheny, Zander Yates, JC Shirer Jr., Isaiah Ihnen, Josh Smith and JJ Harper wrap up their Flames careers.
- Cleveland finishes his time at Liberty ranked fourth in program history for career assists (569), eighth in rebounds (749), and 25th in points (1,220). Porter wraps up his four-year career with 520 assists (No. 6 in school history), 26th in points (1,209) and 47th in rebounds (359). Metheny ends his time at Liberty with 1,315 points (No. 20 in school history) and tied for 24th in assists (257).
- Brett Decker Jr. notched his 11th 20-point game of the year, scoring exactly 20 points. The sophomore led the team in scoring at 16.9 points per game. His 114 three-pointers are the third most in a single season in program history.
- Cleveland's 225 total assists this year are third most in a single season in school history. The CUSA Player of the Year averaged 11.9 ppg (No. 3 on team), 7.6 rpg (No. 1 on team) and 6.8 apg.
- Liberty's 26 wins this year are sixth most in a season in school history.
Team Stats
Lib
Nevada
FG%
.404
.463
3FG%
.227
.235
FT%
.750
.950
RB
23
42
TO
4
10
STL
6
3
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
6
3FGM
2
FTM
6
Pts
16
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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