It started as a good day for Wolf Pack fans after the football program got a commanding win in Reno. For basketball, head coach Steve Alford and Co. were hoping to make it two Wolf Pack wins on the road against a tough opponent in Santa Clara.
Advertisement
The Broncos started and stayed hot offensively all game, never giving Nevada the lead and winning 98-83 to hand Nevada its first loss of the season.
Scoring Summary:
1st Half:
Nevada 34 – Santa Clara 48
2nd Half:
Nevada 49 – Santa Clara 50
Final: Nevada 83, Santa Clara 98
Offense
Nevada quickly fell 9-2 in the early minutes. Corey Camper Jr. got Nevada on the board with a midrange jumper, quickly followed by a three-point shot to make it a 9-5 game.
The offense struggled to keep up in the first half. Nevada made a small run after the seven-minute mark, powered by Camper Jr., who led the first half with 14 points on 5-9 shooting. Nevada shot 44 percent from the field in the first half as well, but only made three deep shots in eight attempts.
Advertisement
After only having four turnovers in the OT win over SIU last week, Nevada had nine in the first half alone and finished the night with 12.
The second half wasn’t much different as Nevada fell to as much as 22 points. The team shot a bit better in the second half at 0 percent and made some noise late, closing it to an 11-point deficit. Turnovers was the major issue for the Wolf Pack, as it felt like any time they got a quick stop, the ball was given right back.
Camper Jr. led Nevada with 21 points on 7-15 shooting, followed by Tayshawn Comer with 19 on 7-9 shooting. Nevada finished shooting 26-58 from the field (45 percent) and 7-14 from deep (50 percent).
Defense
It was hard for Nevada’s defense to keep Santa Clara quiet, especially guard Christian Hammond, who dropped 20 points in the first half on 8-10 shooting and finished the night with 27. A 15-3 run to start the game was all it needed to start and stay hot. The Broncos shot 58 percent from the field in the first half and ended the game shooting 62 percent.
Advertisement
Santa Clara wasn’t clean with the ball either, turning it over eight times in the first half to Nevada’s nine. The Broncos finished with 11 turnovers, but they were able to just come down with more quick shots and get more rebounds. Santa Clara was extremely fast-paced, and it felt like they were hitting just about everything.
The Broncos did damage from beyond the arc as well, shooting 48 percent from that spot. Three players reached double digits, including two who reached 20-plus points (Hammond with 27, Bukky Oboye with 22).
What’s Next
Nevada will hope to rebound next week as it’ll head back home for its fourth home game of the year to host UC Davis. The Aggies recently beat Sacramento State to improve to 3-1 on the year.
Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. PST on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at Lawlor Events Center.
