By GREG MENGELT

LAS VEGAS — Tre Coleman and Nevada nearly erased a 7-point deficit in the final minutes but its comeback fell short in a 71-69 loss to top-seed Boise State in the quarterfinal round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament on Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Coleman, a sophomore from Jeffersonville, finished with five points, three steals and two rebounds in 34 minutes of the loss. Coleman went 1 for 2 from the field, made his only 3-points attempt, and made both of his free throw attempts.

All five of Coleman’s points came after halftime. His 3-pointer cut the deficit to 71-67 with 2:14 left.

Junior guard Grant Sherfield (25), senior guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. (16) and junior forward Warren Washington (13) combined for 54 of the Pack’s 69 points.

Boise State (25-7), which was led by 22 points from senior Emmanuel Akot, will face 4-seed Wyoming (25-7) in Friday’s MWC semifinals. San Diego State (22-7) and Colorado State (25-4) will meet in the second semi.