Michael McGarvey
A look at the key plays, players and moments of the Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball 73-58 victory over the San Jose State Spartans on Friday in San Jose:
KEY NEVADA RUN
The Wolf Pack put the game away with an 11-0 run midway through the second half. San Jose State cut the Pack lead to 43-39 on a short jumper in the paint by Latrell Davis with 12:25 left in the game. But the Pack then took over the game for good, starting with a jumper by Kobe Sanders in the paint for a 45-39 lead with 12:05 to play. Justin McBride grabbed a missed layup by teammate Tyler Rolison off the glass and put it back for a 47-39 lead. Xavier DuSell's 3-pointer with 9:49 left put a dagger in the Spartan's hearts. McBride then finished off the run with a dunk and a layup just 35 seconds apart for a 54-39 lead. San Jose State was 0-for-6 from the floor with three turnovers during the Pack run.
KEY SPARTAN RUN
It wasn't so much a San Jose State run as it was the Wolf Pack obligatory slow start. The Spartans got off to leads of 5-0 after two minutes, 11-4 nine minutes into the game and 20-10 with seven minutes left in the first half as the Wolf Pack once again came out flat and out of sync. San Jose State converted four of its first eight 3-pointers in the first 13 minutes and then was just 4-of-17 the rest of the game. The Wolf Pack was just 5-of-17 from the floor while San Jose State was building its 20-10 lead and then made 25 of its last 41 shots (61 percent) the rest of the game.
KEY SLOW STARTS
Wolf Pack starters Kobe Sanders, Tre Coleman and Nick Davidson didn't exactly explode out of the gate with energy and efficiency. Coach Steve Alford took Sanders out of the game with the Pack down 5-4 with 14:15 left in the first half and sent Davidson and Coleman to the bench with 11:32 to play and the Pack down 8-4. Davidson was 0-for-2 with a turnover and a foul when he went to the bench and Coleman was 0-for-3 when he sat down. Sanders hit a jumper during his first stretch on the floor but he also had three turnovers. Coleman never returned to the game while Sanders (18 points, nine assists) and Davidson (11 points, seven rebounds) helped lead the Pack to victory once they got back on the floor.
KEY PACK PLAYER
It took Kobe Sanders a while to get going (two points in the first half) but once he did he simply shredded the San Jose State defense. Sanders had 16 points and six assists in the second half as the Pack ended up burying the Spartans. Sanders finished with 18 points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals in 35 minutes. Sanders has clearly taken over ownership of the Pack offense. His 19 assists (he had 10 against Fresno State on Monday) are the most by a Pack player in consecutive games since Grant Sherfield had 10 against Pepperdine on Nov. 30, 2021 and nine against Minnesota Duluth on Dec. 15, 2021.
KEY HIDDEN PACK PLAYER
Brandon Love gave the Wolf Pack an efficient and productive 23 minutes. The 6-foot-10 transfer from Texas State was 6-of-8 from the floor for 13 points to go along with five rebounds and a steal. The 13 points are his most since he also had 13 at Loyola Marymount on Dec. 7. His six successful field goals are his most this season. Love scored six points on two layups and a dunk against San Jose State over a three-minute stretch to help give the Pack a 64-47 lead with 4:49 to play in the game.
KEY ENERGY BURST
Justin McBride, once again, breathed life into the Pack offense off the bench. The 6-7 transfer from Oklahoma State finished with 12 points and five rebounds in 25 minutes. He took the most shots (12) on the team but he made six of them, despite missing all four of his threes. McBride scored eight points in six minutes in the second half as the Pack turned a slim 37-34 lead into a 54-39 advantage with 8:30 to play. His layup and dunk just 27 seconds apart also helped the Wolf Pack offense finally come alive midway through the first half.
KEY FACTOR
The Wolf Pack offense is surviving and thriving lately mainly because of its defense. The Pack once again had a huge advantage in points off turnovers (20-5) against the Spartans. The Pack, during its current four-game winning streak over UNLV, Air Force, Fresno State and San Jose State, has scored 27 percent (83-of-312) of its points off turnovers. The Pack has enjoyed a huge 50-point (83-33) edge in points off turnovers during the last four games. They won the four games by a combined 60 points. The Pack has forced opponents to turn the ball over 67 times over the last four games (the Pack had just 35 turnovers in those four games).
KEY PACK GRINDER
Tyler Rolison, now in his second season, played a career-high 31 minutes against San Jose State and responded with seven points, four rebounds and four assists. Rolison, who did not start, played 31 of the final 34 minutes of the game. Rolison was just 2-of-7 from the floor but was 3-of-4 from the free throw line and committed just one turnover. Rolison's minutes have increased over the last five games with Tre Coleman sidelined and hampered by an injury and a one-game suspension. Rolison has averaged 27 minutes a game over the last five games after averaging 18.6 minutes over his first 18 appearances. He played just 27 minutes total over a four-game stretch from Jan. 14 through Jan. 25 heading into the last five games.
UP NEXT
The Wolf Pack (15-10, 7-7) will put its four-game winning streak on the line against Colorado State on Tuesday (Feb. 18) in Fort Collins, Colo. The Rams, which will host Wyoming on Saturday (Feb. 15) afternoon, are 15-9, 9-4 and have lost two of their last three games. Colorado State, though, went 9-2 from Dec. 17 to Jan. 28 after a 5-5 start. The Wolf Pack beat Colorado State twice in the regular season last year (77-64 in Reno and 77-74 in Fort Collins) but lost to the Rams in the Mountain West Tournament (85-78) in Las Vegas.