Grading the Nevada Wolf Pack’s 85-77 men’s basketball victory over the Pepperdine Waves on Tuesday in Malibu, Calif.:
STARTERS
JAROD LUCAS: B
The 6-foot-4 shooting guard’s evening mirrored that of the entire Wolf Pack team. The Wolf Pack and Lucas started off ice cold in Malibu, Calif. Lucas didn’t score a point, missing his first three shots (all threes), over the first 13 minutes as the Pack fell behind 28-21. Lucas, though, hit his final two shots in the final three-plus minutes of the first half and first two shots of the second half to pull the Pack into a 50-50 tie with 14 minutes left. His final field goal (a jumper off a steal by Nick Davidson) was his most important of the game, giving the Pack an 80-75 lead with 1:28 to play. Lucas finished with 18 points and a pair of threes and did his best work keeping the Pack in the game, making the comeback possible. The senior transfer from Oregon State has a very defined skill set (don’t expect many rebounds, steals, blocks or assists) but he is a calming presence and the efficient leader that this growing team needs. Lucas has turned the ball over just eight times all season in 10 games and he leads the team at 17.3 points a game.
KENAN BLACKSHEAR: B +
The fourth-year point guard saved his best for when the Pack needed it the most, scoring 15 of his career-high 22 points in the second half. Blackshear was 6-of-6 from the line over the final 6:37 to hold off the Waves. The 6-foot-6 Blackshear might have flirted with his first 30-point game had he not missed five layups. Blackshear sat the bench for three minutes midway through the second half and returned to help lead the Pack to the victory, scoring 10 points in the last eight-plus minutes. Blackshear did turn the ball over four times in the final 22 minutes (two on the offensive end) and none of his four assists came in the final 16 minutes. But that was just a case of a senior putting the game in his hands, like he is supposed to do as this new version of the Wolf Pack continues to get to know each other.
WILL BAKER: C
Baker, like most of his teammates, did almost nothing in the first half. He had just two points (1-of-3 shooting) and a rebound in 10-plus uneventful minutes before the break. His layup off a feed from Blackshear, though, did cut Pepperdine’s lead to one (31-30), 4:25 before the half. Baker, who played just 19 minutes, sat out long stretches in the second half (six-plus minutes midway through the half, as well as the final five minutes of the game) but he did manage to contribute to the victory. His 3-point play cut Pepperdine’s lead to just 44-43 with 17:51 to go. He then had his most important flurry, draining two free throws and a layup 74 seconds apart as the Pack took a 72-65 lead with 6:18 to go. The 6-foot-11 Baker, who had four rebounds, three turnovers, no assists, steals or blocks and nine points, then turned the ball over with 5:09 to go and was removed from the floor.
TRE COLEMAN: C +
Coleman played an inconsistent and nearly invisible 29 minutes (eight points, two assists) on offense. But, as usual, it’s on defense where his true value can be felt. Coleman had five rebounds and a block and was instrumental in shutting down Pepperdine’s offense in the second half (just 11-of-37 overall from the floor). Coleman had one very important moment on offense and defense down the stretch that helped the Pack hold off the Waves. His offensive rebound and layup gave the Wolf Pack a pivotal 68-65 lead with 7:11 to go and his block of a Maxwell Lewis jumper preserved a 76-72 Pack lead with 3:16 left. Other than that (his final three points and two rebounds came in garbage time in the final 74 seconds), Coleman’s production was on the defensive end and mainly just in the second half. Coleman was left on the bench for nine of the final 13-plus minutes of the first half when Pepperdine was shooting the lights out in the first 20 minutes (14-of-28 overall and 7-of-11 on threes).
DARRION WILLIAMS: D +
The 6-6 freshman from Las Vegas is likely thrilled to be getting out of Southern California. Williams scored just seven points in 62 combined minutes and missed 13-of-16 shots from the floor in the Pack’s two games against Loyola Marymount on Saturday and Pepperdine three nights later. He also didn’t get to the free-throw line once in either game. Williams was just 1-of-8 from the floor for two points, three fouls and a turnover against Pepperdine in 29 minutes. His only points came on a layup just seven minutes into the game. Williams’ two productive moments both came on defense. He blocked a Jan Zidek layup late in the first half and had a steal that led to a Will Baker layup and a 72-65 lead with 6:18 to play in the game. He also had a steal (his three assists led the team) but missed a layup with 7:16 to play. Williams simply had trouble finishing under the basket against Pepperdine. Two of his seven missed shots were threes (both in the second half) but he also missed four layups. His two points against Pepperdine are his fewest this year and his two rebounds equaled his lowest. Williams was 19-of-30 from the floor over his first six games when he played 25 or fewer minutes. Over his last four games, playing at least 29 minutes a game, he has gone 7-for-30.
BENCH
NICK DAVIDSON: B
Davidson, a 6-8 freshman, returned home to Southern California (Mission Viejo) this week and seemed inspired. He had a season-high 25 minutes against Pepperdine and produced a season-high eight rebounds, two steals and eight field goal attempts. Davidson, coming off the bench early in both the first (17:31) and second half (16:14), also scored nine points. Most of his activity and production, however, came in the first half when he played 13 consecutive minutes and scored seven of his nine points and took seven of his eight shots. He was a ball of energy in his first three minutes, scoring seven (of the Pack’s first eight) points on 3-of-4 shooting with four rebounds when not many others in silver and blue were doing anything productive. Davidson’s final 22 minutes of action, though, weren’t nearly as productive, with just two points and four boards on 1-of-4 shooting. He missed three 3-pointers in a span of 5:35 midway through the first half. Davidson, whose father Kirk and mother Kelly are former Nevada athletes, did recover somewhat to help the Pack earn the victory late in the second half. His offensive rebound and layup gave the Pack an important 76-72 lead with 3:29 to play and his steal with 1:51 to go helped lead to a Lucas jumper and an 80-75 lead with 1:28 to go.
TREY PETTIGREW: B
The 6-3 freshman from Chicago filled his 15 minutes with seven points and a season-high five rebounds to go along with three fouls. All seven of Pettigrew’s points came in the first half and all came with the Pack trailing. He had a 3-point play and a jumper just 31 seconds apart midway through the half as the Pack closed to within 20-17 and his layup with 27 seconds to play closed the first-half scoring. Pettigrew, though, contributed to the victory mainly with his work on the glass. His final two rebounds, just 80 seconds apart midway through the second half, led to a layup and a 3-pointer by Tyler Powell as the Pack sliced Pepperdine’s lead to 58-57 with a dozen minutes left.
TYLER POWELL: A
Powell on Tuesday night clearly put in a strong bid for increased playing time. The physical 6-5, 220-pound transfer from Seton Hall was arguably as important to this Pack victory as anybody on the roster. And he played the fewest minutes (12) of any of the eight players who stepped on the court. Powell pumped in 10 points on perfect 4-of-4 shooting to go along with six rebounds and a pair of threes in one of the most productive dozen minutes in recent Pack memory. Powell had four rebounds and two points in six first-half minutes. His offensive rebound and layup pulled the Pack to within 20-19 with 10 minutes left in the half. In just five-plus minutes in the second half he helped the Pack win the game with eight points and two boards. He entered the game with 13:15 to go and the Pack down 58-50. When he went back to the bench with 7:32 to go, the Pack was up 66-65. He had two threes, a layup and a rebound in his first two-plus minutes of the second half as the Pack went on a 10-3 run to get in position to win the game. Powell set his season highs for field goals (four), 2-pointers (two), 3-pointers (two), rebounds (six) and points (10). In his first nine games heading into Tuesday night, Powell was just 5-of-18 from the floor, 3-of-10 on threes, with five rebounds and 16 points over 102 minutes.
COACHING: A
Steve Alford is keeping his rotation tight (just eight players on Tuesday) in this non-conference schedule and it has produced eight wins in 10 games so far. Whatever Alford said at halftime, well, it worked to perfection at both ends of the floor. The Pack missed 10-of-13 threes in the first half and was just 4-of-7 from the line. Pepperdine was 14-of-28 from the floor in the opening 20 minutes and made 7-of-11 threes. In the second half, though, the Pack was 14-of-27 from the floor (52 percent) overall and 4-of-8 on threes and was 16-of-17 from the line while Pepperdine’s offense dried up inside the 3-point circle (4-of-20 on twos). Alford has done a solid job of defining roles quickly despite a new roster that doesn’t have any superstars and isn’t very deep.
OVERALL: B +
This is how you grind out a victory on the road against a talented but inexperienced team in a quiet gym. Just 633 fans were in the stands to see the Pack take on a Waves team that is going to live and die with freshmen and sophomores this year. All but five of the Wave’s 77 points came from a freshman or a sophomore and their inexperience showed in the final 10 minutes or so with the game on the line. All it took to break open this game was an 8-0 Pack run that turned a 65-64 deficit with 7:53 to play into a 72-65 Pack lead with 6:18 to go. It won’t be that easy against more experienced teams on the road — those who can actually put crowds of four or even five digits in the seats. Alford is clearly trusting his bench so far this year. The Pack reserves, better as a group than individually, were the difference. Pettigrew, Davidson and Powell combined for 26 points and 19 rebounds over 52 minutes, while the Waves’ reserves combined for 19 points and 10 boards in 72 minutes.