Grades: Pack opens with solid win in Alford’s fifth season

Grading the Nevada Wolf Pack’s 77-63 men’s basketball victory over the Sacramento State Hornets at Lawlor Events Center on Tuesday:

STARTERS

JAROD LUCAS: B

The 6-foot-4 fifth-year senior didn’t have an especially efficient night. He was just 4-of-14 from the floor and missed 5-of-6 3-pointers. It was the type of performance by the Pack’s top scorer that would have likely spelled defeat against a more quality opponent.

But Lucas, who also had four assists and did not commit a turnover, was there for his teammates when they needed him the most.

Lucas had 12 of his game-high 18 points in the final 5:46 of the first half, stretching a thin 22-18 lead into a 39-30 edge at the half. That’s what a team leader is supposed to do.

That flurry at the end of the half, though, didn’t carry over into the second half as Lucas went 0-for-5 overall and missed all three of his 3-pointers after the break. He didn’t even score in the second half until he went to the line four times in the final 1:41.

But that’s also what a veteran player does down the stretch to help his team. He remained aggressive at the end of each half while realizing his shot wasn’t falling. He attacked the lane and went to the line nine times combined in the final 4:23 of the first half and the final 1:41 of the second half and making all nine free throws.

KENAN BLACKSHEAR: B

Blackshear had a miserable first half, missing four shots, turning the ball over twice and not scoring a point. The 6-6 fifth-year senior, though, was likely the main reason why the Pack avoided an embarrassing season-opening loss.

Blackshear took over the game in the second half, scoring all 14 of his points and draining 6-of-8 shots. He scored six points in the first five minutes of the second half and eight in the final six-plus minutes after Sacramento State closed to within 61-56.

Blackshear, who played 28 minutes (18:41 in the second half), was a ball of energy over a stretch of just 45 seconds late in the second half. Starting with 5:40 to play, he had a rebound, turnover, steal, two free throws and hit a jumper, giving the Pack a 67-59 lead with 4:55 to go.

He also had a crucial jumper for a 71-61 lead with 2:44 to go.

NICK DAVIDSON: C

Davidson, making the first start of his college career, had 10 points, five rebounds, an assist and a block in just 18 minutes (thanks to four fouls).

The 6-9 sophomore had a dismal first half. He played a dozen minutes, took just two shots (missed them both), committed two fouls and didn’t score.

Davidson, though, did contribute to the victory. He had four free throws in a span of just 1:48 to give the Pack a 61-44 lead with 9:42 to play. Davidson, though, committed his fourth foul just 31 seconds later and the Pack went into a tailspin.

Sacramento State went on a 12-0 run over the next two minutes to cut the Pack lead to just 61-56 with seven minutes to play.

Davidson sat out the following five-plus minutes after his fourth foul and returned with the Pack leading just 67-61 with 3:44 to go. He then had an important offensive rebound and layup for a 75-63 lead with 50 seconds to go.

TRE COLEMAN: C

Coleman had a rollercoaster performance. The fourth-year player had just four points, missing 4-of-5 shots, with four assists with two turnovers and three steals in 31 minutes.

The 6-7 Coleman gets as many as 31 minutes in a game because he is the Pack’s defender. He played the final 11 minutes on Tuesday, taking just one shot (he missed) and didn’t have any other stat (offensively or defensively) since the ball rarely came within 10 feet of him.

Coleman was extremely active in the game’s first six minutes with a pair of free throws, an assist, steal, rebound, turnover and foul. He also was actively involved in the final 2:35 of the first half with two steals, an assist, a turnover and a missed 3-pointer.

K.J. HYMES: C

Hymes, an Eric Musselman recruit in 2018, is now in his sixth season at Nevada. The 6-10 former Phoenix high school standout, who played in just four games last year because of injury, made his eighth college start on Tuesday in the 83rd game of his career.

It wasn’t pretty.

Hymes played 18 minutes and had four points and five rebounds. He also missed 5-of-7 free throws, committed two fouls and turned the ball over once.

He wasn’t on the floor for five of the final six minutes in the first half and for the final 3:44 of the second half. He sat out nearly six minutes in the middle of the first half and seven minutes in the middle of the second half.

You can’t teach or coach 6-foot-10, so Hymes will continue to get minutes this year as long as he stays healthy.

He still obviously has a lot of rust to shake off after missing almost all of last year, so he’ll likely grow more efficient and productive as the year goes on.

BENCH

HUNTER McINTOSH: C

McIntosh was brilliant in the first half. He came off the bench with 14 minutes to go in the half and the Pack trailing 10-8 and proceeded to score a dozen points on 5-of-8 shooting with an assist.

He scored nine points on 4-of-4 shooting (one three) in a span of just 2:49 to help turn a 15-12 deficit into a 21-18 lead with 6:47 to go in the opening half.

But then he basically disappeared the rest of the game.

McIntosh didn’t even take a shot in his 12-plus minutes of the second half, obviously shackled by the three fouls he committed in a span of just two-plus minutes of playing time.

The Pack kept McIntosh on the floor for the final 5:51 of the game despite his three fouls and he didn’t do anything that showed up on the stat sheet.

JAZZ GARDNER: A

The 7-foot freshman from Pasadena, Calif., stood out each second he was on the floor in his college debut.

Gardner, reminiscent of a young JaVale McGee, played just 14 minutes and was 3-of-6 from the floor with eight rebounds and scored seven points. Most of his numbers took place in the first half when he played nine minutes and scored four points with six rebounds.

Gardner was also 1-of-2 on threes, missing with 14 minutes to go in the first half and draining one for a 55-39 lead with 13:33 to go in the second half.

The Pack kept Gardner off the floor for 10:54 of the final 11 minutes of the game. But it might not be long before that sort of inactivity down the stretch comes to an end.

DANIEL FOSTER: C

The 6-6 Foster, now in his fourth season, turned in a solid performance with six points on 3-of-4 shooting, an assist and a rebound in 16 minutes.

His layup gave the Pack a 12-10 lead seven minutes into the game, his short jumper gave the Pack a 31-23 lead three minutes before halftime and his offensive rebound and layup put the Pack up 52-39 five-plus minutes into the second half.

TYLER ROLISON: B

Rolison, a 6-foot freshman point guard from Los Angeles, was also solid in his college debut.

He had a pair of free throws for two points (he missed his only two shots, both in the paint) and had three assists and a steal in just 12 minutes.

Rolison played seven minutes in the first half and dished out his three assists, feeding Hunter McIntosh twice and Jarod Lucas once. He had his first college steal just 47 seconds into his career.

AMIRE ROBINSON: Incomplete

The 6-4 freshman from Akron, Ohio played the final 2:38 of the first half and the last 18 seconds of the second half and didn’t pick up a stat.

COACHING: A

Steve Alford handled his lineup nicely, handing out 12 or more minutes to nine different players in the season opener. There were no surprises in the starting lineup and also not with the way Alford handed out the bench minutes (led by McIntosh’s 25).

But that’s the beauty of an Alford-coached team. There are usually no surprises. The players know their roles and responsibilities, seldom do things they aren’t supposed to do, and they are rewarded with consistent minutes from game to game.

Even the bats in the Lawlor belfry, first reported during a game in 2017, returned at just the right time, delaying the game for a few minutes just as Sacramento State was on a 12-0 run. The Pack went on a 16-7 run after play resumed over the final six minutes.

Now that’s coaching.

OVERALL: B +

Sacramento State, which had not played Nevada since the 2005-06 season opener (an 82-74 Nevada win), was a nice, safe way for the Pack to open the season.

The Hornets of the Big Sky Conference lost seven of their top nine players off of last year’s 14-18 team and likely knew more of the Lawlor bats by name on Tuesday than they did their teammates.

But the Pack, which also lost two key players (Will Baker, Darrion Williams) off last year’s 22-11 NCAA Tournament team, played reasonably well while shaking off the rust of the off-season.

The Pack made 22-of-44 (50 percent) of its shots inside the arc (just 4-of-15 threes) and shared the ball with 17 assists on 26 field goals.

The team’s depth (a strength of this roster) also showed up, with five players each getting four or more rebounds and four getting three or four assists.

The Pack played commendable defense, helped along by questionable shot selection by the Hornets (they missed 22-of-33 threes), and were never in serious jeopardy of losing this game.

The Pack, to be sure, also received some friendly home cooking by the officials, making 21-of-27 free throws while the Hornets were just 6-of-8. But it also must be noted that Sac State, which took just 29 shots inside the arc and 33 out, seemed afraid to attack the Pack defense.

The bats showed more aggressiveness than the Hornets.