Photo: Courtesy of Nevada Athletics. Nevada takes on state rival UNLV in Lawlor Events Center on February 2. 2021.

The Nevada men’s basketball team defeated the UNLV Rebels 89-60 on Jan. 31 and 72-62 on Feb. 2. The Wolf Pack bounced back after losing two games to Wyoming last week.

In game one, the Pack took off and never looked back. A defensive rebound by freshman Tré Coleman allowed Desmond Cambridge to score a layup in the paint and give Nevada an early advantage over the Rebels. 

UNLV struggled to catch up despite their best attempts. Going into halftime, the Pack led the Rebels by 16 points. 

Nevada continued to expand their lead during the second half due to offensive efforts by K.J. Hymes and Grant Sherfield. The Pack led by 28 at one point. 

Offensively, Nevada dominated UNLV in the second half, outscoring them 46-30. A lay up by DeAndre Henry in the final minute sealed the win for the Pack. 

Cambridge scored the most points during the game with 17, followed by Hymes with 16 and Sherfield with 15. On the defensive side, Warren Washington and Cambridge combined for four blocks. As a team, 26 points were scored in the paint and 39 were made by players from the bench. 

The second game was more competitive than the first. In a much closer match, the lead changed 15 times and the teams tied ten times. Neither team managed to take a sizable lead over the other as each made basket was answered by the opposing team scoring as well. By halftime, UNLV led the Pack 30-26. 

The second half remained tight as neither team backed down. With the game tied at 58, Nevada began to pull away in the final three minutes because of a 14-4 scoring blitz by Zane Meeks, Sherfield and Warren to extend their lead. Nevada held on to end the game and  complete the sweep. 

Meeks led the team in scoring with 19, closely followed by Sherfield with 18 and Washington with 15. The team scored 28 points from the paint, and 15 points were made off of turnovers. 

Up next: Nevada will host the Boise State Broncos on Feb. 5 and Feb. 7. 

Madeleine Chinery can be reached at mchinery@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @mchinery6