Nevada men’s basketball takes fourth loss in a row

Nevada men’s basketball has not seen a win since Jan. 21 after a close game against Fresno State. In their most recent match, the men lost to San Diego State 63–65 on Feb. 6.

This was Nevada’s third game without starter Grant Sherfield and fourth game without starter Warren Washington on the court due to injuries.

The beginning of the first half looked promising for the Wolf Pack. Will Baker started the game off with a jumper and points from Tré Coleman, Kenan Blackshear and Desmond Cambridge Jr. followed. SDSU had three missed jumpers which allowed Nevada to gain a lead of 13 points six minutes into the game.

Their lead of 13 was still strong after eight minutes with the score at 22–9. Nevada had two turnovers where SDSU took full advantage to change the momentum of the game to their favor. Matt Bradley and Joshua Tomaic were the two players who brought the Aztecs to a tie with five minutes left of the half.

Bradley and Tomaic continued to get shots in and took the lead, ending the first half ahead 28–27.

Throughout the second half, the teams went back and forth with taking the lead. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Blackshear and Cambridge Jr. at the beginning of the half let Nevada have a three point lead. The main thing that let SDSU stay so close to Nevada was the amount of fouls Nevada had. Nevada gave SDSU 13 free throw attempts in which they made ten. SDSU only gave Nevada seven free throw attempts and made six.

SDSU was able to get the highest lead of the half at five points with three minutes left of the game. Cambridge Jr. sank two 3-pointers to reduce the lead to only one point. Although after he fouled, Bradley made his one free throw attempt and won the game by two points.

Nevada had solid stats for field goal points, 3-pointers and free throws. The men went 44.2 percent in field goals, 52.6 percent in 3-pointers and 77.8 percent at the free throw line. Even though these stats are higher than SDSU’s, Nevada did not secure a win because of the lower number of attempts.

Nevada is now 3–7 in conference and 9–12 overall with a five game lose streak. The last longest losing streak that Nevada men’s basketball had in the conference season was seven games in the 2014–2015 season.

The men will be back home looking for a win on Feb. 8 against Colorado State who is 7–3 in conference.

Kelsey Middleton can be reached at kelseymiddleton@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @kelsmiddleunr

Originally published at http://nevadasagebrush.com.