Elijah Gilliam helps Fresno State rally for 24-21 victory over Nevada

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Elijah Gilliam had two touchdown runs and turned a screen pass into a long gain on the go-ahead drive as Fresno State rallied for a 24-21 victory over Nevada in a see-saw Mountain West Conference matchup on Friday night.

Mikey Keene threw a screen pass that Gilliam turned into a 71-yard gain to the Nevada 17-yard line. Three plays later Joshua Wood scored on a 7-yard run to cap a 95-yard drive, and the Bulldogs had a three-point lead with 4:13 left in the third quarter. It was the only score of the second half.

Nevada (3-5, 0-2) took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in six plays, capped by Savion Red’s 3-yard touchdown run for a 7-0 lead. Fresno State (4-3, 2-1) answered with Dylan Lynch’s 44-yard field goal.

The Bulldogs took a 10-7 lead on Gilliam’s 10-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. The Wolf Pack used Brendon Lewis’ 46-yard scoring strike to Nate Burleson II to move back in front by four. Gilliam scored on a 4-yard run for a 17-14 advantage after a botched punt gave Fresno State the ball on the Nevada 16-yard line. Lewis ran it in from the 2 on third-and-goal with 10 seconds left to give the Wolf Pack a 21-17 lead at halftime.

Keene completed 13 of 20 passes for 190 yards with one interception for Fresno State. Gilliam carried 20 times for 66 yards and caught two passes for 74.

Brendon Lewis finished with 158 yards on 13-for-19 passing for Nevada. Backup Chubba Purdy completed 3 of 5 for 53 yards. Jaden Smith had nine receptions for 134 yards. ___

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