Nevada Men’s Basketball (2-0, 0-0) won a back-and-forth contest against the Pacific University Tigers (1-1, 0-0) 78 – 77 on Nov. 8. The matchup saw 12 lead changes.
The Pack started the game with a stop on defense after losing the tip-off. Scoring opened with a fastbreak layup from Nevada guard Corey Camper Jr., though Pacific guard TJ Wainwright quickly evened the score with a jumpshot. Forward Elijah Price then made a jumper to tilt the score in Nevada’s favor 4-2. From there, neither team scored until Nevada guard Tayshawn Comer made a mid-range jumpshot nearly two minutes later.
Following a timeout, Comer knocked down a three point shot, which was immediately followed by turnovers on back-to-back possessions from the Tigers. Then, guard Tyler Rolinson nailed a smooth step-back jumpshot to spark a 10-2 Nevada run. Comer finished with 19 points in his second career game for the Wolf Pack.
“To be honest, it’s trusting my teammates, sticking with the offense, just trusting what my coaches tell me,” said Comer. “They make a lot of plays for me. So just credit to my teammates for my performance tonight.”
After allowing the Tigers to come within two points of Nevada, Comer reignited the offense by lacing a three point shot to extend the Pack’s lead 27-22.
With four minutes left in the first half, Wainwright made a three pointer to give Pacific their first lead of the contest, 32-33.
Nevada tied the game up 40-40 in the last remaining minutes, highlighted by a violent putback dunk from center Joel Armotrading.
The Wolf Pack spent much of the first half attacking the rim and forcing contact with the defense, which resulted in Pacific committing 14 fouls and allowing Nevada to enter the bonus with eleven minutes to play. This gave Nevada 14 free throw attempts.
Nevada was unable to stop the long ball, though, as the Tigers hit eight three-point shots, good for 44 percent.
The second half kicked off with a quick two points from Price on a putback shot. After giving up a basket, the Pack went back down the court to score again on free throws from Armotrading, making the score 44-42.
After losing their lead off two Tigers’ baskets, Nevada regained control as Price scored a pick-and-roll layup. Soon after, freshman guard Peyton White converted an and-one opportunity to bring the total to 54-49.
The Pack surrendered their lead following consecutive Pacific baskets as Nevada continued to struggle with their perimeter defense.
“We were brutal defensively,” Head Coach Steve Alford stated. “We gave up 15 threes. We only turned them over eight times. I just didn’t like our attention to detail.”
From there, Pacific outscored the Wolf Pack 10-7 before back-to-back baskets from Price made it a one-score game at 65-68.
Nevada took the lead with less than three minutes to play as guard Tyler Rolison made a three pointer, though the Tigers immediately struck back with a three of their own.
Rolison gave the Pack the lead again as he hit both free throws to make the score 75-73, then a missed jumper from Pacific prompted a Nevada timeout as the game clock fell to 50 seconds.
Following the break, Comer extended Nevada’s lead 77-73 as he spun into the paint for a layup. A missed three pointer from Tiger guard Kajus Klubickas forced Pacific to start intentionally fouling Nevada.
After Camper Jr. missed both of his free throw attempts and Nevada turned the ball over on an inbound pass, Pacific missed a putback attempt to win the game, handing Nevada the victory.
The Pack’s next challenge will come against the Southern Illinois Salukis (2-0, 0-0) on Nov. 12 at home.
