Nevada's K.J. Hymes scores on a layup in the first half with Fresno Pacific's Harrison Pennisi trying to stop the shot. Nevada defeated Fresno Pacific 92-59 Saturday night at the Lawlor Events Center.
Photo by Steve Ranson.
Grading the Nevada Wolf Pack’s 92-59 men’s basketball victory over the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds at Lawlor Events Center on Saturday . . .
STARTERS
JAROD LUCAS: A
Lucas scored 22 points in just 22 minutes, the first time in his five-year, 142-game career at Oregon State and Nevada he’s averaged at least one point a minute when scoring 20 or more points. The 6-foot-3 guard was 8-of-16 from the floor and 3-of-7 on threes.
Lucas didn’t contribute much when he wasn’t shooting (just one rebound, one assist and one steal) but there wasn’t a need. He left the game with just under 10 minutes to play and the Pack up 71-34.
Lucas made his first two 3-pointers in the game’s first four-plus minutes but then missed five of his last six. He only made as many as two consecutive shots once (midway through the second half). He scored 20 of his 22 points on either 3-pointers, layups or free throws.
KENAN BLACKSHEAR: A
Blackshear scored seven points, all in the first half. The point guard only took one shot over the game’s final 29 minutes.
Blackshear, though, had seven assists, was 3-of-5 from the floor, grabbed two steals and pulled down five rebounds in his 27 minutes.
The seven points are his second fewest this season (he had five against Loyola Marymount) and his five shots equaled his fewest. His seven assists, though are his second most (he had 11 against Portland).
He was 1-of-2 from the free throw line and is now just 51-of-78 (65 percent) from the line this year.
NICK DAVIDSON: A
Davidson had five points, four rebounds, two assists and a steal in 23 minutes. The 6-9 sophomore had a dunk and a layup and missed three layups.
His highlight was a stretch of just 102 seconds early in the second half when he had two assists and a layup as the Pack took a 61-27 lead with 14:28 to play.
TRE COLEMAN: A
Coleman was efficient (4-of-5 from the floor) and productive (eight points, four rebounds) in his 22 minutes. He also had a steal and an assist.
All eight of his points came on layups (three) and a dunk. He missed his only two shots (a 3-pointer and a free throw) when the rim wasn’t within a arm’s reach of the basket.
He had two layups in a span of just 34 seconds late in the first half for a 40-14 lead. His dunk gave the Pack a 65-29 lead with a dozen minutes left in the game.
K.J. HYMES: A
Hymes was on the floor for just 11:41 and scored 14 points with four rebounds. He had a dunk 15 seconds into the game and another 19 seconds into the second half. His third dunk gave the Pack a 56-27 lead with 16 minutes to go.
When the 6-10 center wasn’t dunking he was busy converting two layups and a short jumper in the paint to finish 5-of-6 from the floor. He missed a layup with six minutes left in the first half.
Hymes, who was recruited to Nevada by former coach Eric Musselman for the 2018-19 season, has been very efficient this year on the offensive end, draining 29-of-46 shots (63 percent) and scoring 7.6 points a game.
BENCH
HUNTER McINTOSH: A
McIntosh, never shy, took advantage of his 18 minutes in this blowout to fire up 11 shots (six threes) and score 18 points.
It took McIntosh nearly four minutes to warm up and toss up his first shot after stepping on the court for the first time (midway through the first half) but he ended up taking all 11 of his shots in his last 14 minutes.
McIntosh was 7-for-11 from the floor and 4-of-6 on threes. Two of his 3-pointers came in the final 38 seconds of each half. The 6-3 guard played the final 10 minutes with the Pack already up 71-34 and proceeded to score 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting (2-of-2 on threes).
DANIEL FOSTER: A
Foster had five points, four assists and four rebounds in 17 minutes. Four of his points came on layups two minutes apart midway through the second half for a 71-34 lead.
The Wolf Pack only outscored Fresno Pacific 18-15 in Foster’s 10 first-half minutes. In the second half, though, the Pack had a 17-10 advantage with Foster on the floor over seven minutes.
TYLER ROLISON: C
Rolison didn’t score in his 17 minutes, missing both his shots (two threes). The 6-foot freshman, though, salvage his night with three assists to offset his two fouls and a turnover.
The Pack was outscored 31-29 when Rolison was on the floor.
JAZZ GARDNER: A
Gardner played just 10 minutes but had four points and four rebounds with two steals. He was 2-of-5 from the floor as he saw at least 10 minutes of playing time for the first time in six games.
His offensive rebound and layup gave the Pack a 73-37 lead with nine minutes to go and his other layup made it 81-37 with 5:45 left. He also had two steals just 23 seconds apart with about eight minutes left.
TYLAN POPE: A
Pope, playing in just his fourth game this season, had a season-high nine points in a season-high 18 minutes. He was 4-of-7 from the floor (0-of-2 on threes) and also had four rebounds and an assist.
He played the final 10 minutes in garbage time and scored seven points on two layups, a dunk and a free throw.
AMIRE ROBINSON, JERIAH COLEMAN: Incomplete
Coleman played just the final 5:26 of the game but found the time to commit two fouls, turn the ball over once and grab a rebound.
Robinson played 10 minutes (he played the final 7:41 of the game) and had two fouls and two assists.
COACHING: A
Coach Steve Alford played a dozen players with 11 of them getting 10 or more minutes. That was basically the end of Alford’s job duties on Saturday in a game that was little more than a glorified scrimmage before the Mountain West season opener this Saturday at Fresno State.
The only reason the starters even stepped on the court was because this is the Pack’s only game for 13 days before the Mountain West opener at Fresno State next Saturday.
The Pack could have let mascots Alphie, Wolfie Jr., and Luna coach this game and still would have won by 30. They probably could have let Alphie, Wolfie Jr., and Luna each see 10 minutes on the floor and still won by 20.
OVERALL: A +
The Wolf Pack did what it was supposed to do against a one-win Division II team. The Pack shot 55 percent (37-of-67) from the floor. They were 30-of-47 on shots inside the 3-point circle. The Pack had a laughable 58-12 advantage in points in the paint and forced Fresno Pacific into 20 turnovers for a 29-7 advantage in points off turnovers. Even the Pack bench outscored the Sunbirds’ bench 36-9.
There were no surprises on Saturday. The Pack is now 3-0 against Fresno Pacific in its history with the average victory coming by 37 points. That 3-2 lead Fresno Pacific held for 17 seconds on Saturday is the first lead it has ever had against the Pack.
If you want something to be concerned about, look no further than Kyle Monk’s 32 points in 32 minutes for the Sunbirds. Monk also was 10-of-13 on 3-pointers. The 6-foot-3 sophomore from Modesto had scored just 81 points all season in 10 games against Division II opponents and was just 13-of-62 on threes.
But don’t be too concerned. If the Pack would have actually guarded Monk that would have been like inviting the Sunbirds over for dinner and making them eat in the garage. Think of it as simply the Pack’s little holiday gift for their friendly neighbors to the west and a thank you for showing up.
This game had all the intensity of a Doctors vs. Lawyers exhibition basketball game. There was no need for any real defense, fervor and sweat. This game, after all, was only meant only as a nice way to ring out the year with an easy victory, make sure the Pack was 13-1 heading into January, sell 8,913 tickets at Lawlor and send everyone home with good thoughts.
Want some more good thoughts? Well, Fresno Pacific only lost to Fresno State (the Pack’s opponent on Saturday), 77-67, back in November.
