The Nevada Wolf Pack men’s basketball team used a stifling defensive effort down the stretch Saturday evening at Lawlor Events Center to earn a physical 63-53 victory over the visiting Washington Huskies.
Kobe Sanders led Nevada (2-0, 0-0 MW) with 20 points, while Nick Davidson added 14 points and nine rebounds.
“We did a lot of good things tonight in a game that didn’t have a great flow to it. Sometimes, especially early on, they’re going to be slugfests like this, and I’m very proud of how we finished the last eight minutes,” said head coach Steve Alford.
In a near carbon copy of their season opener, the Wolf Pack came out on their home floor on fire and jumped out to an early double-digit advantage, 19-6, in the first six minutes.
Just as before, the visitors—led by former Utah State head coach Danny Sprinkle—slowly chipped away, largely on the strength of Washington’s Tyree Ihenacho’s quickness off the dribble.
The Huskies’ starting point guard went 6-of-9 from the field, including a bucket from deep, for 13 first-half points.
Washington would pull within one, 28-27, with 2:12 left in the half before going into the break down by two, 31-29.
Former MW Player of the Year Great Osobor, who followed Sprinkle to UW, was held to just two points on a pair of free throws, thanks to the defensive tandem of Nick Davidson and KJ Hymes.
The second half began with both teams struggling, each turning the ball over three times in the first five minutes.
The Huskies were the only team to score out of the gate, starting the half on a 5-0 run to turn the halftime deficit into a 34-31 lead.
The Pack missed their first five shots of the half but finally got on the board with a Hymes dunk to pull within one with 14:51 left.
Both teams could only muster a dozen points each over the next seven minutes as the game turned into a defensive slog with frequent whistles.
A Kobe Sanders dunk tied the game at 44-44 with 7:22 remaining, and a Tyler Rolison layup off Osobor’s fifth turnover of the game put Nevada ahead 46-44 with seven minutes left.
From that point on, the Wolf Pack defense clamped down, holding Washington to just nine points the rest of the way while finishing on a 21-9 run to secure their second win.
“Our starts have been great, and our finishes have been great, and that’s a huge key to winning,” said Alford. “If you can have the first seven or eight minutes be really good and the last seven or eight minutes be really good, that’s a huge key to success.”
Next up: Nevada hosts Weber State on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m. at Lawlor Events Center.
Notes:
- Nevada’s win marked the first Wolf Pack victory against the Big Ten Conference in program history.
- 2023-24 MW POY Great Osobor did not convert a field goal, going 0-for-7 in 30 minutes on the floor. All three of his points came from the charity stripe.
- Nevada converted more free throws than Washington attempted (17-13).
- The Pack’s team free throw percentage was below 70% for the second consecutive game, but the big three of Tre’ Coleman, Sanders, and Davidson combined to go 15-of-18.
- Nick Davidson was highly efficient with his offensive opportunities while focusing on defending Osobor, going 5-of-9 from the field, making his only three-point attempt, and converting 3-of-4 free throws.
- Neither team managed to shoot 40 percent from the field, with the Wolf Pack shooting 38 percent and the Huskies just 34 percent.
- Sophomore guard Tyler Rolison had nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, including one three-pointer, in 23 minutes.
- The Wolf Pack won the rebound battle on both ends and 41-33 overall.
- The Wolf Pack is 2-0 against the spread, covering as favorites in their first two games.
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