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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- After missing two free throws in the first overtime, Luke Nevill made a pair with 2.4 seconds left in the second overtime Saturday to lift Utah to a 93-91 victory over New Mexico.
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Utes (10-17, 5-9 Mountain West) and probably assured them of reaching the first round of the league tournament next month without having to win a play-in game.
Johnnie Bryant scored 23 points for Utah, including 13 in a row in the second half, and Shaun Green had 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Green nearly won the game in regulation, but a 3-pointer bounced off the rim as the horn sounded.
The Lobos (15-14, 4-10) nearly won in the first overtime after Nevill missed two free throws with 33.7 seconds left, but Darren Prentice didn't make a long 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Prentice made a game-tying jumper in the final minute of the first overtime as part of his career-high 28 points. Playing their first game since the firing of coach Ritchie McKay, the Lobos lost for the fourth time in the last five games.
New Mexico made 17 of 27 3-pointers, with Chad Toppert hitting six of them on his way to 20 points. The Lobos didn't get much help from J.R. Giddens, who had just six points in his first game after a suspension.
Utah made 13 of 16 free throws in the two overtimes.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APTV-02-24-07 1826MST
