The Drake Bulldogs taught the Nevada Wolf Pack a valuable lesson last week.
“We just got out-toughed,” guard Kenan Blackshear said of the 72-53 loss in Henderson, Nev., last Saturday. “It was a great learning lesson.”
The Wolf Pack, now 7-1, fell to No. 2 in this week’s Nevada Appeal Mountain West rankings with the loss behind No. 1 Colorado State (9-1).
“We know we’re a team that has to come out and work the hardest and be the smartest on the floor and we weren’t that,” Blackshear said.
“There’s plenty of things to work on,” guard Jarod Lucas said.
Lucas and Tyler Rolison led the Wolf Pack in scoring with just 10 points each.
It is the first time no Wolf Pack player scored more than 10 points in a game since March 11, 2015, when Eric Cooper’s 10 points led the way in a 67-46 loss to UNLV in the Mountain West tournament in David Carter’s final game as head coach.
“I didn’t like our effort for 40 minutes and I didn’t like our toughness for 40 minutes,” Nevada coach Steve Alford said. “It’s not about losing. It’s about how you lose, and I just didn’t like the way we lost.”
Colorado State also lost for the first time this season, 64-61 to Saint Mary’s at home on Saturday. Isaiah Stevens led the Rams with 20 points but also had six turnovers and missed 10-of-16 shots.
“I guess we’re not going to be the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers and go undefeated,” said Colorado State coach Niko Medved of the last Division I basketball team to finish unbeaten.
No. 3 Utah State (9-1) rolled over Northwest Nazarene, a Division II school from Nampa, Idaho, 84-53, last Saturday. Darius Brown had just five points but also contributed 11 assists and six steals. Great Osobor had 17 points and 11 rebounds.
“With this team, nobody is ever satisfied,” said Brown, a 6-foot-2 guard now in his sixth season playing with Cal State Northridge and Montana State. “We are playing to win the Mountain West, not to win non-conference games.”
No. 4 New Mexico (9-1) whipped Santa Clara, 93-76, on Saturday behind 22 points from Donovan Dent. Jemarl Baker, now in his seventh season of college basketball (he’s 25) after stops at Kentucky, Arizona and Fresno State, had 17 on four threes.
No. 5 San Diego State (8-2) got past UC Irvine, 63-62, on a layup by Micah Parish with 11 seconds to play. Jay Pal, who has also played for Clarendon (Texas) College, Jacksonville State and Campbell, had 15 points off the bench for the Aztecs.
“He knows how to play the game,” San Diego State coach Brian Dutcher said of Pal. “He’s a true journeyman. He’s learned lessons all along the way and he’s getting better every day.”
The Aztecs, who advanced to the Final Four last March, have won two games in overtime this year and two others by one point.
“We’ll get better,” Dutcher said. “But we’re not good enough yet.”
No. 6 Boise State (7-3) trounced Western Oregon, 109-70, as Max Rice (28 points) and Chibuzo Agbo (24) each had six 3-pointers.
No. 7 Air Force (7-3) lost to Eastern Washington, 73-68, last Saturday despite 22 points from Ethan Taylor and 17 points and five threes from Beau Becker.
No. 8 UNLV (3-4) dropped a 78-75 decision to Loyola Marymount on Saturday. Loyola’s Dominick Harris had 28 points in 29 minutes off the bench.
UNLV’s Luis Rodriguez had a steal and a dunk to pull UNLV within 76-75 with 12 seconds left and Dedan Thomas missed a 3-pointer with three seconds to go.
No. 9 San Jose State (6-5) beat New Orleans, 87-82, at home on Saturday. Myron Amey Jr. had 29 points and seven rebounds for the Spartans.
San Jose State had lost its previous three games to Cal Poly, Montana and North Dakota State on the road. The losses to Cal Poly and North Dakota State, though, were in overtime.
“I told the team before the game that when you lose three in a row the hardest thing to do is win the next game,” Spartans coach Tim Miles said. “But I don’t know if they really believed me until they were in the fight.”
No. 10 Fresno State (6-5) whipped Pacific, 89-56, at home on Saturday as Xavier DuSell had 19 points on six threes and Isaiah Hill had 17 points on five threes.
Former Fresno State (2008-10) star Paul George, now with the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA, attended the game and sat near the Bulldogs’ bench.
“I’m glad we played well when he was here,” Fresno State coach Justin Hutson said.
The Nevada Appeal Mountain West men’s basketball rankings for the week of Dec. 11:
1. COLORADO STATE (9-1, 0-0): Last week: Saint Mary’s 64, Colorado State 61 (Dec. 9). This week: CSU Pueblo at Colorado State (Dec. 17).
2. NEVADA (7-1, 0-0): Last week: Drake 72, Nevada 53 (Dec. 9). This week: Weber State at Nevada (Dec. 13), Nevada at Hawaii (Dec. 17).
3. UTAH STATE (9-1, 0-0): Last week: Utah State 84, Northwest Nazarene 53 (Dec. 9). This week: Utah State at Santa Clara (Dec. 13); Utah State vs. San Francisco at Salt Lake City (Dec. 16).
4. NEW MEXICO (9-1, 0-0): Last week: New Mexico 93, Santa Clara 76 (Dec. 9). This week: New Mexico at New Mexico State (Dec. 15).
5. SAN DIEGO STATE (8-2, 0-0): Last week: San Diego State 63, UC Irvine 62 (Dec. 9). This week: No games.
6. BOISE STATE (7-3, 0-0): Last week: Boise State 109, Western Oregon 70 (Dec. 9); Boise State 95, Northwestern State 54 (Dec. 12). This week: Fullerton at Boise State (Dec. 17).
7. AIR FORCE (7-3, 0-0): Last week: Eastern Washington 73, Air Force 68 (Dec. 9). This week: Air Force at UT Arlington (Dec. 16).
8. UNLV (3-4, 0-0): Last week: Loyola Marymount 78, UNLV 75 (Dec. 9). This week: UNLV vs. Creighton at Henderson, NV (Dec. 13); UNLV vs. Saint Mary’s at Phoenix (Dec. 16).
9. SAN JOSE STATE (6-5, 0-0): Last week: San Jose State 87, New Orleans 82 (Dec. 9). This week: Montana at San Jose State (Dec. 17).
10. WYOMING (6-3, 0-0): Last week: Wyoming 78, Stephen F. Austin 70 (Dec. 9). This week: Weber State at Wyoming (Dec. 16).
11. FRESNO STATE (5-4, 0-0): Last week: Fresno State 89, Pacific 56 (Dec. 9). This week: Bakersfield at Fresno State (Dec. 15).