Kenan Blackshear scored 22 points, and Nick Davidson hauled down 10 rebounds as the Nevada Wolf Pack handled the visiting Air Force Falcons 67-54 at Lawlor Events Center on Tuesday to move to 2-0 in Mountain West play and remain undefeated at home this season.
Head coach Steve Alford commented on the victory, “We knew it would be a grind, it wasn’t always pretty but we kept fighting and never let them get the lead.” Alford continued, “We led them start to finish and if you do that in this league, you’re doing a lot of good things.”
Nevada (15-1, 2-0 MW) returned to Reno to open the home portion of their 2024 conference schedule on the heels of a comfortable 72-57 road victory at Fresno State. Seniors Kenan Blackshear and Jarod Lucas combined for 35 points in the win.
Air Force features sophomore forward Rytis Petraitis, who began the season injured but has put up some impressive numbers, averaging 17.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists while shooting 55% from the field in the six games since he returned.
The Falcons like to slow the game down and limit possessions, ranking 316th in the country in possessions per game. The Wolf Pack made the most of their opportunities early, coming out red hot. Nevada shot 4-6 from outside the arc and 7-13 overall to hold a 23-16 lead at the under-eight timeout.
The Pack would build the lead to their most significant advantage of the half at 29-19 but manage only one more point in the remainder of the first half, missing seven of their last eight field goal attempts.
The Nevada defense held Petraitis in check for much of the half. But some uncharacteristic Pack turnovers (seven in the half) helped the talented sophomore convert on three of his last four shots of the half to lead the Falcons with nine points.
The Wolf Pack still held a nine-point advantage despite their turnovers and scoring drought at 30-21. When Hunter McIntosh hauled down a rebound with 24 seconds left, Nevada looked to be in position for a final shot and heading to the break with a double-digit lead.
But when Daniel Foster headed to the rim for a layup and appeared to be fouled, the officials didn’t see it that way. The Falcons raced up the floor and found an open Beau Becker for a three-point severe attempt, which he canned with one second remaining.
The potential five-point swing made a half, which felt like they dominated, leaving Nevada with only a slim six-point lead at 30-24.
Air Force would convert another turnover right out of the gate in the second half, and the lead was trimmed to four points. That’s when Jarod Lucas decided he had seen enough.
Lucas, who has scored in double-figures in every game this season, struggled to an 0-for-7 first half. But a shooter keeps shooting.
Lucas swished three of his subsequent four attempts from deep and added a free-throw to complete a four-point play for all the Nevada points in a 10-4 run that pushed the lead back to 42-32 with 14:06 left.
Nevada would build the lead to 47-38 with just under 11 minutes to play, but the Falcons would climb back in the game on the back of another Wolf Pack shooting draught, going 1-for-6 over the next four minutes.
When Becker hit another three with 6:25 left, the lead was back down to four at 52-48.
A Nick Davidson dunk on the next possession brought an eruption from the crowd. Air Force had lulled the Pack’s support to sleep for most of the evening with their version of the Princeton offense. The game, as was the Falcons’ plan, was played at a pace akin to the bar of saltwater taffy being slowly stretched, again and again.
Davidson’s emphatic slam snapped the 7,600 plus from their slumber, and the Nevada defense seemed to feed off the energy, beating their opponents to spots rather than reacting to them.
The solid defense led to chances to extend the lead on the offensive end. Kenan Blackshear took over, as he always seems to do when the game is late on the line. The 6-6 senior guard drove hard to the hoop on the next two possessions to ring up a pair of buckets and convert a three-point play to push the lead back to 11 at 59-48.
Becker, who, along with Ethan Taylor, led Air Force with 14 points on 5-9 shooting, would hit another three to get the Falcons within eight on the next possession, but they would get no closer.
With a Friday night home game against Boise State, who beat 17th-ranked Colorado State on Tuesday, Alford is looking for the crowd to get behind the Pack as its sixth man.
“Friday will be a fun atmosphere, and this game will be a great battle. Both teams return a lot from last year, and they play and guard like we do.” Alford added, “We really want a sellout. Our guys are deserving. They’re 15-1 and 2-0 in the conference and are doing some great things.”
I’d have to agree. Lawlor should be packed for this one on Friday.
Next up: Nevada hosts Boise State at Lawlor Events Center on Friday, January 12th at 7:30 pm.
Notes
- The Wolf Pack and the Mountain West’s Utah State are the only two programs in the country with 15 wins.
- Nevada is 23-1 at home since the start of the 2022-23 season.
- After going 4-6 for nine points in the first half, Nevada held Air Force’s Rytis Petraitis to just four second-half points on 1-of-7 shooting and a pair of free throws.
- Nevada held the Air Force to their lowest point total of the season.
- After combining for 2-for-10 shooting in the first half, Blackshear and Lucas went 8-of-13 in the second half.
- Nick Davidson added 12 points, three assists, and a blocked shot to his game-high 10 rebounds, earning his second career double-double.
- Nevada converted 20 free throw attempts, while Air Force had just seven attempts, converting six.
- Nevada held the lead for 34:24.
- The Wolf Pack shot 52% in the second half while holding the Falcons to 36%.
