Nevada takes down #22 San Diego State 75-66 to earn second consecutive ranked victory at home
Jarod Lucas scored a game-high 26 points, Will Baker added 19 and Kenan Blackshear chipped 18, giving Nevada its second straight win over a ranked opponent at the Lawlor Events Center and its first win over San Diego State since 2018.
The win sees the pack improve to 17-6 this season, including a perfect 11-0 mark at the Lawlor Events Center. The pack also improved to 7-3 in the Mountain West game that season.
Lucas put on a sensational performance all night, dropping 26 points on an efficient 9-14 shooting from field and 7-8 on the free throw line. Lucas also grabbed four rebounds, pulled off a steal, and finished the contest with a game-high +11+ in 38 minutes of action.
Baker was dominant on offense all night, scoring 19 points on 6-10 shots from the field while putting down 7-7 shots on the free throw line. He also grabbed nine game-level rebounds, three of which went to the offensive glass.
Blackshear displayed excellent all-around performance, scoring 18 points on 7-14 shooting from the field and 3-4 on the free throw line. He also recorded seven game-level assists while rotating the ball just once. Blackshear also grabbed two steals as a team high, and the senior finished the game +10 plus/minus in 36 minutes of play.
Junior forward Tré Coleman excelled at both ends of the court, scoring 11 points on 3-6 shooting from behind the arc while catching three rebounds and dishing out two assists. On defense, Coleman set a career-high three blocks, and he limited San Diego State’s top scorer Matt Bradley to just five points in the second period.
Nevada shot an impressive 50.0 percent from the field (25-50) and 87.0 percent from the free throw line (20-23) throughout the game.
First half
Lucas found his shot early in the contest, blasting a mid-range jump shot on Nevada’s first possession of the game to put the pack 2-0 up after 36 seconds.
San Diego State knocked down a 3-pointer at the far end of the floor to take their first lead of the game; However, Blackshear hit a turnaround jumper on the pack’s next possession and retook the lead for Nevada.
The Aztecs put off an 8-0 run in the next minute and a half of the game and built an 11-4 lead over Nevada at the first media timeout.
San Diego State was assessed a Class A technical foul just before the break, and Lucas hit two free throws from time-out to cut the Aztecs lead to five points. Blackshear then drilled a contested 3-pointer into the corner, pulling the pack within two points.
The Aztecs hit a single free throw at the other end to put the lead back to three; but Lucas made a difficult 3-pointer to level the score at 12 points apiece, leaving 13:28 in the first half.
Lucas hit another contested jumper less than a minute later to regain the lead for Nevada, but two Aztec free throws again leveled the score at the 11:41 mark in the first period.
Nevada used back-to-back buckets from Lucas and Baker on their next two possessions to give them an 18-14 lead. The Aztecs leveled the game again, leveling the pack’s quick 4-0 sprint with a 4-0 run of their own as the two teams were bogged down with just over eight minutes remaining on 18 points each.
A pull-up jump shot by Blackshear retook the lead for Nevada; However, San Diego State responded with a 6-0 run in less than two minutes of play to create a four-point lead.
Two Baker free throws ended the run and reduced the deficit to two points, and after the Pack was stopped on defense, Lucas dumped another deep jumper to level the game 26-26 for the eighth time. Lucas then knocked down two free throws to give the pack the lead; but the Aztecs immediately finished the contest again at 1:52 at halftime while back-and-forth play continued.
San Diego State scored 34 seconds later with two more free throws and the pack failed to score on the last two possessions of the third as they went 28-30 behind the Aztecs at halftime.
Second half
Lucas started the second half in much the same way as the first, dumping a middle-class jumper as Nevada tied the game for the tenth time with 19-11 remaining.
After stopping on defense, Blackshear came down and hit a middle distance jumper of his own, giving the pack a 32-30 lead.
San Diego State hit a shot from behind the arc on their next possession to retake the lead; However, Coleman responded with a 3-pointer of his own to regain the advantage for Nevada as the pack held a 35-33 lead with 18:01 remaining.
Two possessions later, Baker missed a shot into the paint but managed to collect an offensive rebound from his own miss and ended a second chance through significant contact when he converted an and-one chance and gave the pack a five- Points lead, the biggest in the game at this point.
Blackshear put up a massive block on defense and Baker hit another difficult shot over his defender to extend Nevada’s lead to seven with just under 15 minutes to go.
San Diego State then ripped off a 7-0 run in the next two minutes to end the contest at 42 points apiece with 12:52 in the game, forcing the pack to call a timeout.
After the time-out, Blackshear found Coleman on the wing, who drilled a 3-pointer with the shot clock pulled down to get the pack back up by three.
The Aztecs cut the lead to one; However, Darrion Williams found Coleman open in the transition when Coleman knocked down his third 3-pointer of the second half to give Nevada a four-point advantage 10-13.
San Diego State found an answer again, using an 8-3 run to reclaim the lead while the Pack trailed 51-52 with less than eight minutes to go.
Just as they have done throughout the season, Nevada showed exceptional composure and resilience all the way through, refusing to allow the Aztecs to create a split.
After falling a deficit, Lucas hit another difficult jumper from mid-range to reclaim the lead for Nevada, and after earning a stop on defense, Blackshear found Baker wide open in the paint for a massive slam Dunk as the pack took a 55-52 lead at 6:24 in the game.
San Diego State reclaimed the lead less than 45 seconds later and went 56-55 after two quick buckets.
The pack continued to find answers as Blackshear hit a hard floater in lane on the next play to put Nevada a point ahead. San Diego State made a free throw to tie the game on their next possession; but Coleman went on to knock down two free throws at the other end.
The Aztecs went down and hit a 3-pointer and the lead shifted again, this time in San Diego State’s favor as they held a 60-59 advantage with 4:29 in the game.
Coming up once more for the pack, Lucas smashed in another extremely difficult shot in the face of a San Diego State defender to regain the lead for Nevada.
The pack forced a missed jump shot on defense and Baker knocked down two free throws to push Nevada’s lead to three points at the 3:23 mark.
The Aztecs cut Nevada’s lead to one on their next possession; However, that would be as close as San Diego State when Baker hit a turnaround jumper before Blackshear hit another middle-range shot to extend Nevada’s lead to five.
San Diego State reduced the lead to three; but two free throws from Lucas pushed the pack’s lead back to five, leaving 1:09.
Nevada made 6-6 shots at the free throw line on the stretch as they clinched the massive win over San Diego State.
Notable Statistics:
Nevada’s 47 points scored in the second half marked the fourth most points San Diego State has conceded in a half this season.
The pack shot 65.2 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from behind the arc in the second half.
Nevada’s starters outperformed the Aztecs’ starters 74-41.
There were 12 draws and 16 lead changes throughout the game.
Nevada had just six turnovers in the contest, matching the lowest number of turnovers they had in a game that season.
Tuesday night’s win marked the first time in program history that Nevada had defeated a ranked opponent in consecutive home games.
Next
Nevada will return to court this Friday as they will host the Air Force at the Lawlor Events Center with a tip scheduled for 8 p.m.
Single game tickets now on sale
Single game tickets for Nevada men’s home basketball competitions are available on the My Nevada Tickets website. Fans can also purchase single game tickets for the season by calling 775-348-PACK (7225). Those who have questions or need assistance can also contact the box office by phone or email for ticket information.
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