Nevada men’s basketball (2-0) eked out a 96-95 win against the top-rated Saint Mary’s College Gaels (2-1) on Sunday night in a game that could be influential as the season progresses. The match was a part of the inaugural Caesars Lake Tahoe Classic, featuring teams such as Houston and the University of Southern California (USC).
Sophomore center Simon Majok won the opening tipoff, giving Nevada the ball, though the Pack was unable to capitalize as junior guard Styles Phipps missed a layup.
Saint Mary’s, on the other hand, wasted no time, scoring two quick baskets, one of which being a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Mantas Juzenas. The Gaels refused to let up, as a trip to the foul line and a layup put Nevada down 9-0 to start.
The Pack finally got on the board when junior guard Peter Bandelj drew a foul and swished both of his free throws. From there, Nevada rattled off seven more unanswered points, capped off by a breakaway slam from senior guard Vaughn Weems, tying the game at nine.
“We didn’t call a timeout. I let the guys play through it,” Nevada head coach Steve Alford said. “That’s the connectivity that we wanted; they figured it out.”
Following a media timeout, Juzenas and Weems traded threes as both teams vied for the lead. However, neither squad pulled away as the game clock dipped under eight minutes.
Then, after a missed call from the officiating crew sent Alford into a fury, the Pack began to heat up.
Dunks from redshirt Junior forward Elijah Price and Weems got the scoring started for Nevada, as a free throw from forward Peyton White capped off a 7-0 run.
The Wolf Pack’s lead did not last, though, as a couple of jumpers and a converted and-one from fifth-year Gael guard Jeremy Dent-Smith evened the score at 32. Weems quickly answered, as the 6-foot-4 guard scored a reverse layup off of a lob pass from Bandelj.
Weems stayed hot as the first half wound down, netting his second three of the contest to give the Pack a 5-point lead. Following a free throw from senior guard Keyon Kensie Jr., Weems scored again, this time with a baseline floater.
Nevada stayed hot, as a layup from Kensie Jr. made it a 10–0 run. Dent-Smith made a three just before half, bringing the match’s total to 42-35.
Coming out of the break, Weems continued his heater, immediately nailing a three to extend Nevada’s lead to 10. Then junior Saint Mary’s guard Joshua Dent scored a pair of baskets, one three and one jumper, stifling Nevada’s run.
Alford’s group regained some of its momentum; a layup from Weems ignited a short 4-0 run.
Then, following back-to-back fouls on Nevada, Saint Mary’s began a run of their own, bringing the game within 3 points. It was here that Alford checked in junior guard TJ Coulter, who promptly made his way to the charity stripe, making both attempts.
Dent answered right back, though, nailing a three of his own to make the score 54-53 in the Pack’s favor. The score remained close for only a moment, as Phipps’ offense and Majok’s defense fueled a 8-0 run for Nevada.
Saint Mary’s would not go quietly as Dent took over on offense, making two more jumpshots to bring his total to 20 points.
Then, a controversial back-court no-call got Alford and assistant coach Craig Neal so fired up that the call was overturned, giving Nevada the ball back. Weems made good on the call with a layup that was assisted by sophomore guard Myles Walker. Then, on the next possession, Weems executed a chase-down block to perfection, following a turnover from Walker.
“There will be calls we don’t agree with and there will be calls we like,” Alford said. “They shot 19 free throws and we shot 36, so I’m pretty pleased.”
Weems continued to carry the Wolf Pack offense as he laced another triple, marking his fourth of the afternoon. As the clock approached two minutes to play, both teams traded multiple trips to the line — though Nevada continued to hold their roughly 8-point lead.
Following this, Saint Mary’s began to tighten the score. Then, with just over a minute to play, Price fouled Dent on a 3-point attempt. Dent netted all three shots, taking a 75-73 lead and prompting a timeout from Alford.
Coming out of the timeout, UCLA action gave Weems the ball on the block, where he was immediately fouled. The game’s leading scorer made both shots to put his team up by three.
The Gaels immediately evened the odds at 77 when Juzenas made a three. From there, both Weems and Dent traded tough jumpshots, keeping the score knotted at 79 with just 15.4 seconds to play.
Alford then called a timeout to set up his group’s crucial possession. On that possession, a down screen gave Weems a decent look from three, though he missed, sending the game to overtime.
“Who doesn’t get nervous in moments like that?” Weems said. “When I shot it, I thought it was good. It looked good from my stance, but it was just a little short.”
Price won the tipoff to begin extra time, as Phipps laced a pull-up jumpshot. Dent answered right back with a jumpshot of his own. From there, Phipps kept in rhythm, making his next two shots.
Nevada was unable to pull away, however, as they failed to slow down Saint Mary’s offense. Then a foul from Weems put Juzenas at the line, where the guard only made one of his two attempts, tilting the score 90-89 for Nevada.
Another foul on Phipps gave the Pack their first real chance to build a lead in overtime. Phipps made both. Phipps then fouled out, sending freshman guard Darius Bivins to the line with just 58 seconds remaining in overtime, though Bivins only made one of his shots.
With Walker in Phipps’ place, Nevada relied heavily on Weems, who quickly drew a foul, making only one free throw. A rare stop for the Wolf Pack on the Gael’s next possession forced them to intentionally foul Price, sending him to the line. Though Price made just one shot, it extended Nevada’s lead to 94-90, a two-score difference.
A quick score from senior Gael forward Thomas Ndong made it a 2-point game with 11.6 seconds remaining. A well-executed inbound from Nevada bled the clock to 4.9 seconds, and Weems was fouled, making both of his shots. Although Dent drilled a nearly half-court heave, 3 points were not enough as Nevada squeaked out a 1-point win.
The Pack’s next matchup will be against the University of California, Santa Barbara (2-0) for their first road game of the season on Nov. 11 at 6 p.m.
