Men’s hoops lose 2nd-half lead to Pacific

By: Lukas Eggen

Monday, December 7, 2009 - 11:47 PM

Guard Armon Johnson defends a Pacific player Saturday night. Photo by Natalie Compton/Pacifican

Six days after nearly defeating the North Carolina Tar Heels, the Nevada men’s basketball team finished its three-game road trip with a 61-58 loss at Pacific on Saturday.

Nevada jumped to a 21-15 lead in the first half with just more than eight minutes remaining, but the Tigers closed the gap to 31-29 at the half.

In the second half, Pacific opened with a 10-2 run to take a 39-33 lead. The two teams then went back and forth until a two-point shot by guard Brandon Fields gave the Wolf Pack a 58-55 lead with 2:43 to go. The Tigers answered and tied the game with 1:47 after a three pointer by guard Demetrece Young. A layup by forward Sam Willard gave the Tigers the lead with 0:59 to play.

Trailing 61-58 with six seconds left, Nevada (2-4) had one last chance to tie the game. Coming out of a time-out, guard Armon Johnson got the ball, but no play developed and Johnson’s shot was blocked to end the game.

“I thought they would play man-to-man,” head coach David Carter said. “But they basically played a zone and caught us off guard a little bit.”

Although the Wolf Pack lost the game and was winless on the road trip, Carter said the team took away some positives.

“We know we can play on the road,” Carter said. “Now we have to make free throws and get key rebounds and get a victory.”

Nevada was led in scoring by Johnson and forward Luke Babbitt, who scored 18 and 17 points, respectively. Babbitt also added 10 rebounds for his fifth straight double-double.

During the game, Johnson became the 19th player in school history to score 1,000 points and record 250 assists. Johnson has 1,004 career points and 288 assists in 73 games with the Wolf Pack.

Nevada had two players score in double figures, making this game the first time this season that the Wolf Pack did not have four players in double figures.

The 58 points scored by Nevada was the lowest total of the season. The team’s previous season low was 73, which the team scored against North Carolina.

The team will now return home after playing its last three games and four of its last five games on the road.

“It’s always great to play in front of our fans,” Carter said. “It’s a good opportunity to get our confidence back and get back on our winning streak.”

Nevada will begin a four-game home stand when the team hosts Fresno Pacific tonight at 7:05 p.m. The Wolf Pack then hosts South Dakota State, Eastern Washington and Wagner before playing at Brigham Young University on Dec. 22. Dating back to last season, Nevada has won five regular-season home games in a row and 12 games of its last 15 at Lawlor Events Center.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at leggen@nevadasagebrush.com.