RENO, Nev. (AP) Caleb Martin scored 24 points and No. 6 Nevada avoided losing consecutive games for the first time this season, beating Fresno State 74-68 Saturday night.
The Wolf Pack trailed 62-60 with 4:34 left, but went on a 8-0 run over the next two minutes to grab its largest lead of the game.
Jordan Caroline added 17 points, Tre'Shawn Thurman had 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Jazz Johnson scored 10 points in his first start of the season for Nevada (25-2, 12-2 Mountain West).
The Bulldogs (19-8, 10-5) got a much better effort from their frontcourt in this game - matching the Wolf Pack with 32 rebounds and outscoring them 28-20 in paint - than in Nevada's 74-64 win at Fresno State on Jan. 12.
Fresno State jumped to a fast start, connecting on its first four shots - all 3-pointers - en route to an early 12-6 lead.
Nevada shot 62 percent from beyond the arc in the first half to take a 42-39 lead at the break. The Wolf Pack finished 54 percent on 3s for the game.
Fresno State held Nevada to 33 percent shooting in the second half.
Deshon Taylor led Fresno State with 30 points on 11-for-19 shooting. Taylor's effort mirrored his performance last time he played at Nevada and had a career-high 32 points on Jan. 31, 2018.
BIG PICTURE
Fresno State: The Bulldogs lost their second-straight game, now three games out of first place in the Mountain West standings with three games left.
Nevada: The Wolf Pack rebounded from their second loss of the season Wednesday at San Diego State and took a half-game lead over Utah State in the conference standings.
UP NEXT
Fresno State: Hosts Wyoming on Wednesday night.
Nevada: Hosts in-state rival UNLV on Wednesday night.
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Game Notes:
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No. 6 Nevada (25-2, 12-2 MW) improved to 25-2 and 12-2 in the Mountain West after downing Fresno State (19-8, 10-5 MW) 74-68 tonight at Lawlor Events Center before 11,019 fans.
It was the seventh crowd over 11,000 fans this season.
The Wolf Pack hosts intrastate rival UNLV (15-11, 9-5 MW) on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at LEC. The Rebels were hosting San Diego State tonight.
The Pack has won its last 16 home games and all 13 this season. The 16 game home win streak is ninth longest active streak in Division I.
The 25-2 record is the best in school history after 27 games and the 12-2 MW record is tied with the 2017-18 team for the best in school history.
Nevada leads the MW with a 12-2 record.Â
The Pack swept the two games from FS this season and leads the series 57-44. Nevada has won the last five games and Musselman is 5-4 versus the Bulldogs.
The Wolf Pack improved to 27-3 under fourth-year head coach Eric Musselman after a loss.
Musselman is now 56-5 at home, 51-17 in MW play, and 29-5 at home in MW action.
Overall Musselman improved to 106-31 at Nevada.
Junior Jazz Johnson made his first start and played a season-high 40 minutes. Johnson scored 10 points and made 3-of-5 shots from behind the arc.
Tre'Shawn Thurman came off the bench for the first time in eight games and posted his second double-double of the season with 14 points and a team-high 10 rebounds in 34 minutes. Thurman also tied for team honors with four assists.
Caleb Martin led the four Pack players in double figures with 24 points. It was the 12th time he led the Pack in scoring this season, is his 15th game of 20 or more points this year that included two 30-point games. With his 24th point he reached 1,200 at Nevada which ranks 21st in school history.
Jordan Caroline had 17 points and six rebounds in the victory. Caroline now has 1,104 rebounds in his college career which includes his time at Southern Illinois. He has scored in double figures in 26-of-27 games this season.
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