Photo courtesy of Nevada Athletics on Twitter @NevadaHoops. Grant Sherfield has a double-double with 25 points and 10 assists.
Nevada is on a three game winning streak for the first time since December. The Wolf Pack defeated San Jose State in back to back games to improve to 12-13 on the year.
The Nevada starting lineup had great games one through five. Junior guard Grant Sherfield shows why he is a possible NBA second rounder in the upcoming draft. Sherfield finished with a double double with a game high 25 points and 10 assists. He shot an efficient 10-13 from the field and he added six rebounds.
The dynamic duo was back in action as senior guard Desmond Cambridge Jr. turned in a strong performance as well. He ended with 17 points, five assists, three rebounds, two blocks, and one steal. Cambridge Jr. stuffed the stat sheet while shooting a solid 6-11 on field goals.
Junior center Will Baker continued to give San Jose State problems as he followed up his 23 point performance with another good game. Baker dropped 16 points and five rebounds on an incredible 7-9 shooting from the field.
Sophomore forward Tré Coleman had himself a night as he finished with 14 points, three assists, and two rebounds. The starting five was rounded out by a solid performance from junior guard Kenan Blackshear. He ended with a tough seven points and seven rebounds on 3-5 shooting from the field.
The game went back and forth early with both offenses finding their rhythm. Baker had a dunk to open the game and then Sherfield had a three pointer and two jumpers. Nevada was ahead 9-7 around the 16 minute mark.
The Wolf Pack went on a run as both Coleman and Blackshear added a bucket and then Sherfield connected on another three pointer. San Jose State tried to slow down the Nevada offense but it was ineffective. Sherfield made a layup and Cambridge Jr splashed a three pointer. The score was 21-13 and Nevada was up with 11 minutes left in the first half.
Nevada continued to play great defense and offense as they went on an immense 19-6 run. The whole team got involved as there were baskets from Sherfield, Cambridge Jr, Baker, Coleman, Blackshear, and junior forward K.J. Hymes. Nevada had a 40-19 point lead with four minutes left in the half. Nevada successfully closed out the half with good play on both ends.
The Wolf Pack took a 43-25 lead into halftime.
The Nevada offense did not skip a beat coming out of the locker room. Cambridge Jr quickly hit on a jumper and a three pointer. Baker made a dunk and Sherfield connected on two free throws. The Nevada offense was looking unstoppable and their defense was seeing success in stopping San Jose State. Nevada was winning 52-28 with 17 minutes left in the second half.
The Wolf Pack then went on another huge 16-5 run. They were up 68-33 after two Coleman free throws at the 11 minute mark. Nevada stayed hot adding buckets from Sherfield, Hymes, and two baskets in the paint from Baker. Sherfield cashed in a three pointer and a jumper which was followed by a Baker layup. This gave Nevada a 83-50 lead with just under five minutes left in the game. This allowed for some Nevada reserves to get some solid minutes off the bench.
Nevada went on to win the game 90-60.
This was a magnificent team performance from Nevada basketball. Fans have been waiting for a huge win and they received a 30 point demolition of San Jose State. Nevada looked good on offense and defense. The Wolf Pack will hopefully be able to be more consistent and perform at this high level for the rest of the season.
The season has had ups and downs but as most know there is nothing a team could want more than to be playing their best basketball heading into March. Nevada has an important rivalry game against UNLV at Lawlor on Feb. 22. A Wolf Pack win would increase the win streak to four games and it would make the community happy to defeat our rivals.
Anthony Miranda can be reached at kelseymiddleton@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush