LOGAN, Utah – Desmond Cambridge Jr. continued to sizzle, and Grant Sherfield showed he was recapturing his pre-injury form, Friday night as Nevada stopped its six-game skid with an 85-72 win at Utah State.
Cambridge Jr. was 6-for-9 from deep, and 10-for-16 overall, scoring 27 points three days after going for a career-high 36 against Colorado State. Sherfield scored 16 of his 24 points in the second half, and went 12-for-14 from the line, including 8-for-10 over the final 2:21 to help the Pack (10-13, 4-8 MW) ice it.
Nevada shot 60.0 percent in the second half, outscoring the Aggies (15-11, 6-7 MW), 53-35, to overcome a five-point halftime deficit.
Will Baker and Kenan Blackshear set the tone for the latter 20 minutes, each scoring in the opening minute to pull the Pack within one. The teams went neck-and-neck for the next seven minutes, until Cambridge Jr.'s game-tying 3-pointer, with 12 minutes left, made it 50-50 and turned the tide the Pack's way.
Nevada made nine of its next 11 attempts, stretching its lead to nine at 69-60 with 6:41 to go. On the other end of the court, the Pack ramped up the defensive pressure, forcing the Aggies into a 1-for-7 stretch. Even when the Aggies showed signs of warming back up, Nevada always had an answer. Baker answered a RJ Eytle-Rock triple with one of his own to re-establish a nine-point lead. Then, with three minutes to go, Sherfield hit a triple of his own in response to a Justin Bean basket, upping the Pack's lead to 10 at 75-65.
Sherfield took over at the line, from there, helping the Pack wrap it up by going 8-for-10 from the stripe the rest of the way.
Baker and Blackshear each finished in double figures, with Baker scoring 12 points, and Blackshear just missing a triple-double, finishing with 10 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists.
Brandon Horvath scored a game-high 29 points for Utah State, going 11-for-14 from the line.
Nevada plays a home-and-home with San José State next week, beginning Tuesday, Feb. 15, at 8 p.m. at Lawlor Events Center, and concluding Thursday night, Feb. 17, at 9 p.m. in the Bay Area.
