After earning their 21st victory of the season this past Tuesday, a 66-51 victory over San José State in which they put on an exceptional display on the defensive end of the court, the Nevada Men’s Basketball Team will hit the road for a two-game stretch away from home beginning with a contest against Fresno State Friday evening.
Nevada owns an impressive overall record of 21-7 this year entering Friday night’s contest, including a mark of 11-4 in Mountain West play and a perfect record of 14-0 at home.
The Pack took on Fresno State at the Lawlor Events Center two weeks ago, earning a 77-66 victory over the Bulldogs.
Nevada had four different players reach double-figures in scoring in the first matchup with Fresno State, led by 19-point outings from Kenan Blackshear and Will Baker.
Blackshear had an outstanding all-around performance in the game, reaching 19 points on an efficient 8-13 shooting from the field and 3-4 at the free throw line, while also dishing out a game-high seven assists and pulling down three rebounds. The senior point guard finished the contest with a game-high plus/minus of +17 in 35 minutes of action.
Baker dropped 19 points on 5-7 shooting from the field and 8-9 at the free throw line, in addition to pulling down five rebounds throughout the game.
Freshman Darrion Williams was phenomenal in the first contest against Fresno State, scoring a career-high 16 points on 4-5 shooting from the field, 2-2 from behind the arc, and 6-7 at the free throw line. Williams also pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, dished out five assists, and tallied one steal.
Jarod Lucas was the fourth Pack player to reach double figures in scoring, putting up 13 points while hitting 1-2 shots from behind the arc and draining all six of his free throw attempts in the game.
Nevada had one of their most efficient offensive performances of the season in the victory over Fresno State, as they finished the contest with shooting clips of 54.5 percent from the field (24-44), 50 percent from behind the arc (6-12), and 88.5 percent at the free throw line (23-26).
The Pack recorded 16 assists on 24 made field goals, and they outrebounded the Bulldogs 32-26.
Nevada also had a solid outing on the defensive end of the court in the first contest against Fresno State, limiting the Bulldogs to just 41.4 percent shooting from the field (24-58) and 31.3 percent from behind the arc (10-32).
Last Time Out
Nevada will enter Friday night’s matchup coming off of an impressive 66-51 victory over San José State in which they held the Spartans to an abysmal 36.4 percent shooting from the field (20-55) and 30.3 percent from behind the arc (10-33).
Individually, Baker led all scorers in the contest with a game-high 18 points on 6-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 6-6 at the free throw line, while also grabbing five boards.
Baker has continued to improve his numbers throughout the year; and, after dropping 18 points against SJSU he currently ranks 13th in the Mountain West in points per game (14.2 PPG), second in field goal percentage (56.5%), and fifth in free throw percentage (84.8%).
Williams had another sensational outing for the Pack, scoring 14 points, all of which came in the second half. He also pulled down five rebounds, dished out two assists, and tallied two steals. Williams was nothing short of exceptional in the second period, scoring 14 points on a perfect 5-5 shooting from the field, 2-2 from behind the arc, and 2-2 at the free throw line.
Williams continues to rank towards the top of the conference in rebounding this season, as the freshman currently ranks fourth in the Mountain West in rebounds per game, pulling down 7.2 per contest. Williams also ranks eighth in the conference in steals per game, as he is averaging an impressive 1.5 steals per contest.
Kenan Blackshear had an exceptional all-around performance for the Pack in the win over San José State, scoring 12 points on 5-7 shooting from the field, while also pulling down a team-high seven rebounds, dishing out three assists, and recording one block.
Blackshear has now reached double figures in scoring in 19 straight games, and in 25 of 28 contests this season. He has also dished out at least three assists in 26 of 28 games this season for the Pack.
As he has done all season, Blackshear continues to rank in the top-15 of the Mountain West in a plethora of individual statistical categories. Entering Friday night’s game, Blackshear ranks third in the conference in assists per game (4.7 APG), sixth in steals per game (1.5 SPG), seventh in field goal percentage (46.2%), 10th in points per game (14.7 PPG), 11th in minutes per game (32.6 MPG), and 13th in free throw percentage (77.6%).
Jarod Lucas was limited to just one 3-point field goal against San José State; but, the senior guard found other ways to make a strong impact on the game, grabbing three rebounds and dishing out two assists, while finishing the contest with a game-high plus/minus of +17 in 28 minutes of action.
Lucas has scored in double figures in 25 of 28 games for Nevada this season, and he has knocked down multiple 3-pointers in 21 contests this year, including making three or more in 14 games.
Lucas continues to rank towards the top of the Mountain West in a multitude of individual statistical categories. Lucas is currently second in the conference in made 3-pointers (72), second in 3-point field goal percentage (39.6%), fourth in free throw percentage (85.9%), fourth in minutes per game (33.9 MPG), and fifth in points per game (16.8 PPG).
Junior forward Tré Coleman had another sensational defensive performance for Nevada, limiting the Spartans leading scorer and one of the premier players in the Mountain West, Omari Moore, to just 13 points on 5-15 shooting from the field and 2-8 from behind the arc as the primary defender.
Coleman also had a solid outing on the offensive end of the court, scoring seven points on 3-7 shooting from the field, while dishing out three assists and pulling down four rebounds.
Coleman enters Friday’s game against Fresno State ranked eighth in the league in blocked shots (26) and 14th in steals per game (1.0 SPG).
Nevada received solid production from their bench in the win over San José State.
Redshirt-freshman Nick Davidson scored six points, grabbed two rebounds, and recorded one block in 15 minutes of action, while fellow freshman Trey Pettigrew scored four points in just 3 minutes off the bench.
Senior guard Hunter McIntosh made his first appearance of the season against the Spartans, coming off the bench to record two assists in 11 minutes of playing time.
Nevada will face another difficult road challenge Friday evening against an extremely athletic Fresno State team who has fared much better at home than on the road this year.
Scouting Fresno State
The Bulldogs hold an overall record of 10-17 and a mark of 6-10 in conference play this season.
Fresno State boasts one of the top defenses in the conference this year, as they currently rank second in the Mountain West in opponent points per game, limiting their opponents to just 64.6 points per contest this season.
The Bulldogs have been particularly solid at protecting the paint, as they rank sixth in the conference in blocks per game, averaging 3.2 per contest.
Fresno State’s backcourt has been solid throughout the season, as the duo of Isaiah Hill and Jemarl Baker are combining to average 23.7 points per and 6.2 assists per game this year.
Hill is putting up 12.3 points per game on 39.2 percent shooting from the field, while also dishing out 3.7 assists per contest.
Baker is averaging 11.4 points per game on 36.7 percent shooting from the field, in addition to dishing out 2.5 assists per game.
Isaih Moore has provided a strong presence in the paint for the Bulldogs this season, as the 6-10 senior forward is averaging 11.5 points per game on 53.6 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent from behind the arc, as well as grabbing a team-high 7.3 boards per contest.
Nevada will need to limit production from Fresno State’s trio of Hill, Baker, and Moore, and dominate the glass, while having another efficient offensive outing in order to earn their 22nd victory of the season and start the two-game road trip on a strong note.
Series History
Nevada and Fresno State have faced off on the court 58 times throughout history, with the Pack holding a 36-22 advantage over the Bulldogs in the all-time series.
