HONOLULU — D.J. Fenner scored 16 points and Nevada pulled away in the second half on Friday to defeat Coastal Carolina 73-56 in the Rainbow Classic, making a winner of Eric Musselman in his college coaching debut.
Marqueze Coleman had 14 points, Cameron Oliver had 13 in his first collegiate game and AJ West had 12 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolf Pack.
The Chanticleers led 23-21 at the half but the Wolf Pack shot 53 percent in the second half when Coleman scored all of his points and Fenner had 10 to take control.
Badou Diagne had 15 points and Jaylen Shaw 13 for Coastal Carolina.
Musselman won 566 of 906 professional games in four different leagues before signing on with Nevada.
The Wolf Pack turned 17 Coastal Carolina turnovers into 20 points and got 27 points off their bench.
The Chants led the Wolf Pack at the break after a low-scoring first half that saw Coastal up 23-21. Nevada, however, rallied behind the 14 second-half points from Colman, who had been held scoreless in the first.
Shaw’s three to end the first half and gave Coastal its two-point lead at the break. Each team shot below 30 percent from the field in the first, with Nevada improving its shooting to 53.1 percent in the second. For the game, Nevada outshot the Chants 40.0-30.0.
Diagne opened the second half making all three of his 3-pointers to put Coastal ahead 34-25. Fenner countered with a pair of his own 3-pointers to cut the deficit. Lindsay Drew tied the game for Nevada at 35-35 with 15:44 to go in the second, rolling in a layup. The Wolf Pack went ahead for good less than a minute later when Coleman hit a pair of free throws.
The Chanticleers return to the court and wrap up their trip to the Rainbow Classic on Sunday when they face the host university, Hawaii. Tip is set for 5 p.m. local time at the Stan Sheriff Center.
