The Nevada Sagebrush

Nevada guard Brandon Fields poured in 24 points for the Wolf Pack in its 112-99 win over Houston on Saturday at Lawlor Events Center. Photo by Casey Durkin/The Nevada Sagebrush

In its two games this past weekend, the Nevada men’s basketball team came away with a split against the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and the University of Houston.

In its first game of the week at UNLV, the Wolf Pack (2-1) dominated for a majority of the game, owning a 54-42 lead with 14:37 left in the game. But the Rebels went on a 23-4 run after that to take a commanding lead of their own and went on to win 88-75.

In its next game against Houston, Nevada faced a similar situation. The Wolf Pack held an 84-58 lead with 13:52 left in the game. The Cougars then went on a 36-16 run to cut Nevada’s lead, which was once 26 points, to just six. But the Wolf Pack closed out strongly, ending the game on a 12-5 spurt to come away with the victory.

SHAW BECOMING A FORCE

Joey Shaw’s first year with the Wolf Pack was rocky at best.

The senior, who transferred to Nevada from Indiana University last year, started just two games and shot 39 percent from the floor. He averaged just 7.4 points per game while filling in at the small forward position.

This year, Shaw was thrust into the starting lineup and, with more consistent playing time, he has excelled. In three games, he is averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds per game with 54 percent shooting from the field.

Shaw has become a reliable extra offensive option for the Wolf Pack to go to when its regular dominant scorers, forward Luke Babbitt and guard Armon Johnson, are not on their game.

One of the main reasons behind Shaw’s progression this year is his newly aggressive style of play. Last year, Shaw shot just 63 free throws (about two per game). This year, he has already taken 15 foul shots (five per game) and is on pace for 150 free throw attempts this year. This past week, he was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week after averaging 20.5 points and nine rebounds in Nevada’s two games.

STRONG SIX

There is little doubt Nevada’s starting lineup and sixth man are one of the top in the Western Athletic Conference. Together, the group (Babbitt, Brandon Fields, Dario Hunt, Johnson, Ray Kraemer and Shaw) averages 83.6 points and 36.6 rebounds per game.

But that’s where the problem is. After these six, the Wolf Pack is getting no production from the rest of its players. The aforementioned group has combined to score 96 percent of Nevada’s points and pull down 95 percent of its rebounds.

This deficiency has led the Wolf Pack into poor second halves.

In its first three games this year, Nevada outscored its opponents by an average of 50-36 in first halves. In the second periods, the team has been outscored 47-38.

ROAD TRIP

The Wolf Pack will next hit the road to start what will be its longest series of consecutive road games since the 2006 season. The Wolf Pack will play Virginia Commonwealth University at 4:30 p.m. Friday, the No. 11-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels at 4:45 p.m. Sunday and Pacific University at 7 p.m. Dec. 5.

Juan López can be reached at jlopez@nevadasagebrush.com.

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