STATELINE, Nev. (Interstat) — Vaughn Weems scored 33 points and Nevada survived a final Saint Mary’s 3-pointer to beat the Gaels 96-95 in overtime in a men’s NCAA Division I basketball game Sunday at Tahoe Blue Event Center. The Wolf Pack improved to 2-0, while Saint Mary’s dropped to 2-1 before 3,323 fans. Weems added five rebounds, one assist and one block in 34 minutes. Joshua Dent led Saint Mary’s with 30 points, two rebounds and five assists in 42 minutes, and his 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left in overtime cut the final margin to one point.

Nevada trailed early after Saint Mary’s opened with a 9-0 run. Jazz Gardner made a layup, Mantas Juzenas hit a 3-pointer and two free throws, and Gardner added a jumper as the Gaels took control. Nevada chipped away and tied the game at 9 on Weems’ dunk. The Wolf Pack took their first lead on Peter Bandelj’s jumper and later built a 42-35 halftime advantage. Weems scored 15 first-half points, and Styles Phipps added 11 before the break. Jeremy Dent-Smith hit a 3-pointer just before halftime to bring Saint Mary’s to 42-35.

Saint Mary’s rallied in the second half. Dent hit a jumper and a 3-pointer, Juzenas made a layup and a 3-pointer, and Dent-Smith added a jumper as the Gaels climbed back. Nevada moved ahead 62-53 on consecutive layups by Keyon Kensie, but Saint Mary’s answered with Dent’s layup and 3-pointer. The Gaels tied the game at 77-77 on Juzenas’ 3-pointer with 46 seconds left in regulation. Weems answered with a jumper at 25.9 seconds, and Dent tied it again at 79-79 with a jumper at 17.2 seconds. Nevada had the final possession of regulation but could not score, sending the game to overtime.

In overtime, Phipps made a jumper and a layup around a Dent jumper. Dent-Smith tied it at 83-83 with a layup, and Phipps hit a 3-pointer on the next possession. Dent-Smith answered with a jumper, Bandelj made a jumper, and Juzenas made a 3-pointer to tie it at 88-88. Phipps then made a jumper, Juzenas made one free throw, and Phipps made two free throws for a 92-89 Nevada lead. Darius Bivins made a free throw for Saint Mary’s, Weems made one free throw, and Elijah Price made one free throw. Thomas Ndong made a layup with 11.4 seconds left, Weems made two free throws with 5.9 seconds left, and Dent’s 3-pointer at 1.4 seconds ended the scoring. Saint Mary’s could not get another shot.

Weems paced Nevada with 33 points. The 6-foot-5, 197-pound guard from Federal Way, Wash., who previously played at Federal Way, was coming off a 13-point, four-rebound, three-assist effort against Robert Morris. Phipps, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound guard who previously played at Saint Mary’s, finished with 25 points, three rebounds and five assists in 30 minutes. Price, a 6-foot-9, 215-pound forward and former St. Anthony’s standout, had 11 points and 11 rebounds. Bandelj added 10 points, two rebounds and six assists, and White scored four points with three rebounds.

For Saint Mary’s, Dent had 30 points, Juzenas had 24 points, eight rebounds and four assists, and Dent-Smith had 20 points. Juzenas, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound guard who previously played at BC Zalgiris Kaunas, played 40 minutes. Dent-Smith, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound guard and former Serra product, played 31 minutes. Zougris had six points, seven rebounds, two assists and one block, and Ndong had six points and eight rebounds. Dent, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard who previously played at Centre of Excellence, played 42 minutes.

Nevada shot 34 of 59 from the floor, 5 of 11 from 3-point range and 23 of 36 from the free-throw line. Saint Mary’s shot 33 of 76 from the floor, 13 of 35 from 3-point range and 16 of 19 from the free-throw line. Nevada held a 46-26 advantage in points in the paint. Saint Mary’s had 10 offensive rebounds to Nevada’s four, committed 10 turnovers to Nevada’s 12, and had 15 points off turnovers to Nevada’s 19. Saint Mary’s had 13 fastbreak points to Nevada’s 15. Each team had seven assists, and Nevada had two blocks. Saint Mary’s committed 25 fouls, and Nevada committed 17. Saint Mary’s scored 95 points from 85 possessions for an offensive rating of 111.7, while Nevada scored 96 points from 84 possessions for an offensive rating of 114.1.

Interstat’s game simulator projected a final score of Nevada 75, Saint Mary’s 74. Interstat’s ELO system gave Saint Mary’s a 76.3 percent probability to win. Nevada had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 2.5. The total score of 191 went under the over-under line of 146.5.