Armon Johnson came up clutch once again for the Pack, converting an old-fashioned three-point play that included a full-court sprint to the rim in 3.3 seconds to salvage Nevada a 67-66 win over Idaho.

Salvage being the key word of course.  Up 14 points at intermission, thanks to some red-hot shooting by senior guards Ray Kraemer and Brandon Fields, Nevada went ice cold in the second-half.  That allowed Idaho—-a team built primarily on D-1 and JUCO transfers from the west coast—-to roar back in front of an excited home crowd.  Down 49-34, the Vandals reeled off a startling 25-5 run against a bewildered Nevada team.

But unlike the result in a few of their other road games this year–when the team squandered other leads after appearing weary down the stretch of games–Nevada punched back this time.  Sophomore Luke Babbitt, a front runner for WAC Player of the Year honors, scored 7 straight for Nevada to trim the Pack’s deficit to 62-61.  After two free throws by former Washington State guard Mac Hopson—-who played for a loaded Jefferson high school team in Portland (Ore.) that saw all 10 seniors make it to D-1 basketball—-Johnson took center stage.

Down three with under 20 seconds remaining in the game, the Reno native took a pass from Babbitt on the wing and fired a three-pointer over senior Vandal guard Kashif Watson that tied the game at 64-64.  Hopson, who was extremely fired up for both games against Nevada this year due to some gamesmanship/trash-talking with Johnson, drilled two free-throws with 6.2 seconds left to put Idaho up by two, 66-64, after a questionable blocking call on Dario Hunt. It was Hunt’s fifth foul of the game.

But Johnson than made the play of the game, taking the inbound pass from Babbitt near the free throw line and sprinting to the other end of the floor.  With Watson again guarding him, “A.J.” drew solid contact as he elevated to the rim, even knocking the former Vegas area standout to the floor.  From there, it was really all about luck for Johnson as his layup careened around the rim for what seemed to be minutes—-not seconds—-before finally dropping in.

Johnson, who is shooting a career-low 65 percent from the free-throw line this year, dropped home the game winner moments later to give Nevada an emotional, hard-fought 67-66 win. It was Johnson’s 23 point of the night, to go along with 4 assists, 2 blocks and 2 rebounds.

Babbitt added 21 points and 7 rebounds while Fields scored 11 points for the Pack.

Hopson, who took a last second desperation three-point near the Vandals bench, led the way for Idaho. He scored 17 points on just 3 of 13 shooting, doing all of his damage essentially from the free-throw line where he went 10-for-11.  Hopson also added  rebounds and 6 assists. Watson was the only other Vandal in double-figures, scoring 11 points.

Nevada, which now sports a 14-9 (6-4 in the WAC) record, returns to the court on Saturday night at Lawlor Events Center in Reno for a home game against visiting Boise State.