Jarod Lucas and Kenan Blackshear combined for 48 points on a tidy 19-for-26 Wednesday at Lawlor Events Center. At the same time, the Wolf Pack defense held the conference’s best shooting team to 39.6% from the field in a 77-64 victory over the 24th-ranked Colorado State Rams.
Nevada (16-4, 3-3 MW) returned home after a road trip that saw them get off to yet another slow start at Viejas Arena, fight back, but ultimately succumb once again to San Diego State, and then hit a season-low in Laramie giving up 98 points and 35 free-throw attempts in a quad-three loss to the Wyoming Cowboys.
With a highly competitive Mountain West Conference, the loss at Wyoming largely gobbled up the Pack’s margin for error with regard to competing for an NCAA tournament bid, making the Colorado State game a must-win for Nevada.
The Rams arrived in Reno as the 24th-ranked team in the country despite losses at Utah State and Boise State earlier in the season. They came in off a pair of close wins on their home floor over Air Force in OT and UNLV. Colorado State had been ranked as high as 14th in the coaches’ poll before the start of conference play.
The Rams were leading the Mountain West in assists per game (19.7), field goal percentage (51.4%), and free throw percentage (76.6%).
The Wolf Pack opened the game with a decided fervor on the defensive end, overwhelming the Rams early and holding a 6-0 lead through the first 3:45 of the game. Colorado State would settle down and go on a 7-0 run of their own over the next three minutes to assume the lead at 7-6.
A Jalen Lake three-pointer would push the Rams lead to three with 11:17 left in the half. However, Nevada would find their defensive stride again and maintain it, outscoring Colorado State 19-10 over the next 10 minutes of game action and creating their largest lead of the half at 31-22.
A bucket at the buzzer from Jarod Lucas after a Daniel Foster offensive board sent the Pack to the break up 35-27.
Nevada showed that when motivated, they can defend, holding the best shooting team in the Mountain West to a paltry 28.6% shooting while canning 50% of their attempts through the first 20 minutes.
The second half opened with the Pack pushing the lead up to a 12-point margin on a pair of Blackshear buckets in the first two minutes of play.
The Rams, led by one of the best guards in that nation in Isaiah Stevens, would battle back to draw within six points on several occasions. The teams spent the middle 10 minutes of the half essentially trading baskets at that margin.
With left 5:45 on the clock, it truly was still anyone’s game, with Nevada maintaining a five-point edge at 65-60. The Wolf Pack defense would stymie the Rams the rest of the way, outscoring them 12-4.
Keying the crunch-time run was an aspect of the game that had cost Nevada two of their recent losses: the offensive rebound. Kenan Blackshear had a pair of critical offensive boards and added a steal over the final five minutes, which he converted into eight points. Meanwhile, Lucas remained money at the line, capturing all four opportunities from the free throw line to secure victory.
Next up: Nevada travels to New Mexico to take on the Lobos at The Pit on Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. before returning home to host San Jose State on Feb. 2 at 8 p.m.
Notes
- The defensive tandem of Tre’ Coleman and Daniel Foster held CSU’s Isaiah Stevens to just seven points on 4-of-16 shooting.
- Nevada had 12 second-chance points on eight offensive rebounds, a critical battle they’ve been losing dramatically recently.
- Jarod Lucas converted the 300th 3-pointer of his career.
- Lucas’ 5-for-5 from the free throw line makes him 96-for-104 or 92.3% for the season, including a run of 34 straight.
- Head Coach Steve Alford moves into first place among Nevada coaches by beating three ranked teams at Lawlor.
- Tre’ Coleman continues to find ways of contributing beyond his defense, leading the Pack with seven assists.
- Tylan Pope’s minutes and effectiveness continue to improve, with a pair of blacks and seven points in 12 minutes.
