Wednesday night at Lawlor Events Center, the Nevada men’s basketball team had all five starters score in double figures while dishing out 21 assists on 28 made baskets. Despite shooting just 41 percent from the free throw line, the Pack secured a comfortable 72-55 win over the visiting Weber State Wildcats.
Nevada (8-1, 0-0 MW) took the floor coming off their first loss of the season, a 19-point defeat on a neutral court at the hands of the Drake Bulldogs.
Meanwhile, the Wildcats arrived in Reno with a 5-3 record and quality wins over St Mary’s and Yale, both on neutral courts. Weber State also featured preseason Big Sky Player of the Year Dillon Jones, the current leading scorer (19.7 PPG) and leading rebounder (10.7 RPG) in the conference.
The Wolf Pack offense was looking for answers, succumbing mightily to the defensive pressure they faced versus Drake. Things didn’t figure to get any easier against Weber State, ranked fifth in the nation in points allowed, averaging a paltry 58.5 points per game.
The Weber State defense came as advertised to open the game, shutting down the lane and plucking four quick turnovers from the Wolf Pack in the opening minutes.
Undeterred, Nevada stayed with their game plan to attack the paint and kick the ball outside when the defense collapsed.
The Wildcats ran neck and neck with the Pack through most of the first half in a back-and-forth affair and were deadlocked at 17-17 with 6:10 left to play. But the Wolf Pack’s insistence on pounding the paint paid off with a 10-0 run highlighted by a pair of K.J. Hymes dunks and a kick-out three-pointer by Kenan Blackshear to finally create a little breathing room for Nevada at 27-17.
Hymes led Nevada at the half with nine points, and the Wolf Pack went to the break up seven at 29-22.
The second half saw the Wildcats match each Nevada surge in the first five minutes.
“the guys just did a tremendous job.”
The Pack defense was doing a good job containing Dillon Jones, who would finish with 13 points, but Blaise Threatt, who would finish with a game-high 18 points, was a bit of a thorn in their side, keeping Weber State close.
Weber State’s Handje Tamba beat Nick Davisdon to the spot at the rim, and his dunk kept the visitors to within five points at 39-34 with 14:34 left to play.
That seemed to light a fire under Davidson, who reeled off the following two buckets and inspired teammates Jarod Lucas and Hunter McIntosh, who combined for three straight triples.
The 10-0 run put Nevada up by 18 at 52-34 with a shade over 10 minutes remaining. Davidson would also turn things up on the defensive end with a game-high three blocked shots, including blocks on back-to-back Wildcat possessions.
At that point, it was up to Nevada to work on closing out the game.
They’ve struggled at times in that endeavor during the non-conference portion of the campaign thus far. Still, Blackshear reeled off six points on three straight possessions, and Hunter McIntosh, Tre’ Coleman, and Jarod Lucas reeled off three-pointers down the stretch to squelch any Wildcat hopes.
“Other than foul shooting, which we’ll address, 21 assists and 11 turnovers, that’s who we are,” said head coach Steve Alford. “Drake was nine (assists) and 19 (turnovers), and tonight was 21 and 11, the guys just did a tremendous job.”
Next up: Nevada travels across the Pacific to take on Hawaii on Sunday, December 17 at 7 pm and will remain there to play in the Diamond Head Classic and take on Temple in the first round on December 21 at noon.
The Pack returns to Lawlor Events Center on Saturday, December 30, to conclude their non-conference schedule against Fresno Pacific at 7 pm.
Notes:
- Nevada has gone 16-for-35 from the free throw line over their last two games.
- The Wolf Pack won points in the paint 28-22.
- Jarod Lucas has scored in double figures in all nine games this season.
- Nevada shot 57 percent from the field, including 65% in the second half.
- The Wolf Pack will play their next four away from home with a road game at Hawaii (7-1, 5-0 home) and then competing in the Diamond Head Classic. The field in Honolulu includes their first-round matchup with Temple (6-3), TCU (7-1), Old Dominion (3-6), Georgia Tech (5-3), UMass (5-2), Portland (5-5), and host team Hawaii (7-1)
- Per Jon Rothstein, the MWC wants to add Oregon State and Washington State in basketball for the 2024-25 season.
