The Nevada Men’s Basketball team defeated the Eastern Washington Eagles 73-52 in an exhibition game on Saturday, October 25.
Nevada put on a strong first half, drawing fouls and getting to the line early. An early steal by center Joel Armotrading set the defensive tone for the Pack.
Nevada was able to shut down Eastern Washington’s offense, forcing a shot clock violation in the next play. With Nevada trailing by two, they were able to battle for a rebound, which set up guard Vaughn Weems for a dunk to even the score, 9-9. Free throws made by Weems and Forward Elijah Price gave the Pack the lead, 12-9.
The Eagles answered back with two points made by guard Tyler Powell. Another two points scored by guard Cole Scherer put the Eagles up 13-12. A three-point shot by Weems put Nevada back in the lead, 15-13.
The Eagles continued to foul Nevada, allowing the Pack to shoot for 14-17 free throws in the first half compared to Eastern Washington’s 5-7 free throws. A travel call on Eastern Washington shut down their attack, which led to a dunk from Nevada guard Corey Camper Jr.
Nevada guard Chuck Bailey III stole the ball to give Nevada back the possession. Continuous turnovers by the Eagles allowed Nevada to gain momentum, taking shots to take the lead, 21-13. Offense continued to flow for Nevada as they gained 15 points going into the half, 35-20.
Eagles’ guard Johnny Radford opened scoring out of the half with back-to-back threes, followed by a layup from forward Kiree Huie. Nevada responded back with Camper Jr. making a layup, capitalizing on Eastern Washington’s turnover.
Another turnover by the Eagles allowed a putback dunk from Weems. The Eagles didn’t let up as Huie and Radword continued to score, keeping the game close, 41-37. Nevada guard Tyler Rolison was able to convert on an and-one play, following a three-pointer by Bailey III.
The teams exchanged shots, keeping the game close, with Nevada in the lead 56-45. Eastern Washington turnovers made it hard for the Eagles to close the gap; The Pack was able to score 31 points from turnovers alone during the entirety of the game.
An offensive run gave Nevada a big lead with Price going to the line on back-to-back plays. This was followed by two point shots by Weems and Price, a lob from Camper Jr. to Price, and two free throws knocked down by guard Peyton White, which sealed the game with a Nevada win, 73-52.
When asked in the postgame press conference about the team’s ability to showcase different players, Nevada basketball head coach Steve Alford said, “We are a deep team right now because we’re healthy and we just got to continue to work. We got a really high ceiling, there’s so much room for improvement in so many ways.”
Nevada will be back at Lawlor Events Center on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 7 p.m. for their home opener against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs.
