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Kenan Blackshear
54
Air Force USAFA 7-7,0-2 Mountain West
67
Winner Nevada Nevada 15-1,2-0 Mountain West
Air Force USAFA
7-7,0-2 Mountain West
54
Final
67
Nevada Nevada
15-1,2-0 Mountain West
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Air Force USAFA 24 30 54
Nevada Nevada 30 37 67

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Trevor Marbut - Associate Director of Athletic Communications

Pack Earns 15th Victory, Remains Undefeated at Home With 67-54 Win Over Air Force

RENO, Nev. - The Nevada Men's Basketball team limited Air Force to a season-low 54 points on just 37.3 percent shooting from the field on their way to a 13-point victory over the Falcons to become one of two teams in the country with 15 victories this season. 

The victory was Nevada's eighth consecutive win, as the Pack improved to 15-1 on the season, including a perfect mark of 9-0 at home.  

Despite only scoring 67 points, Nevada had an efficient night on the offensive end of the court, as they completed the game with clips of 46.5 percent shooting from the field (20-43), including 46.7 percent from behind the arc (7-15). The Pack recorded 15 assists on 20 made field goals, and Nevada scored 26 points in the paint.  

Defensively, Nevada locked down the Falcons throughout the contest, as they held Air Force to 37.3 percent shooting and forced them into 13 turnovers. 

Individually, Kenan Blackshear led the way for the Pack for the second consecutive game, as he dropped a game-high 22 points on 7-13 shooting from the field, 1-2 from behind the arc, and 7-11 at the free throw line. Blackshear also pulled down three rebounds, dished out three assists, and recorded two blocks. The fifth-year senior put on a masterful performance in the second half, as he scored 15 points over the final 20 minutes, propelling the Pack to victory. 

Redshirt sophomore Nick Davidson had an outstanding performance, scoring 12 points and pulling down 10 rebounds to record the second double-double of his career. Davidson had a highly efficient night on offense, as he reached 12 points on 4-5 shooting from the field, including 1-1 from behind the arc. Davidson also recorded three assists, and he completed the contest with a plus/minus of +12.  

Jarod Lucas added 14 points, as he maintained his streak of reaching double figures in scoring in every game this season. Like Blackshear, Lucas significantly elevated his game in the second half, scoring 12 points on 3-5 shooting from behind the arc over the final 20 minutes.  

Nevada maintained a lead for 34 minutes and 24 seconds throughout the game, while in turn only trailing for three minutes and 22 seconds in the contest. 

First Half 

K.J. Hymes opened up the scoring in the game, drawing a foul on a layup attempt and proceeding to knock down a pair of free throws to give the Pack a 2-0 lead 66 seconds into the contest. 

Air Force immediately responded with a 3-pointer on the other end, as the Falcons claimed their first lead of the contest at the 18:34 mark.  

On the Pack's next possession, Blackshear backed down his man in the post before the Falcons sent a double team at him, and he threw a dime of a pass to Tre Coleman who threw down a two-handed dunk, giving Nevada a 4-3 lead with 18:13 to go in the first period.  

The two teams continued to go back and forth over the next six minutes, and Air Force found themselves with a 14-13 advantage over the Pack at the 12:18 mark.  

The Pack responded with a 7-0 run over the next 2:19, as they took a 20-14 lead over the Falcons with just under 10 minutes to go until halftime. 

The run began with a Coleman 3-pointer off a great pass from Blackshear. Just over a minute after Coleman's triple, Daniel Foster drove past his defender and finished a tough layup through contact at the rim. Shortly after Foster's layup, Lucas completed the run by knocking down a pair of free throws.  

The Falcons made a layup to end the run and trim the Pack's lead to four points, however, at the 9:41 mark, Tyler Rolison found an open Hunter McIntosh who buried a 3-pointer, as Nevada took a 23-16 lead over Air Force. 

After the Falcons responded with a triple of their own, Rolison knocked down two free throws to push the Pack's lead back up to six with 7:03 left in the first half.  

After 93 scoreless seconds for both teams, Blackshear pulled down a defensive rebound and took it the length of the court, finishing a layup in transition, as Nevada expanded their lead up to eight points. 

Blackshear then knocked down two free throws at the 4:20 mark to give the Pack their first double-digit lead of the game, as they held a 29-19 advantage over Air Force. 

The Falcons managed to outscore Nevada 5-1 over the remainder of the first half, as the Pack took a 30-24 lead into halftime. 

Nevada shot 40 percent from the field and 50 percent from behind the arc in the first half, while limiting Air Force to 38.5 percent shooting in the period. 

Second Half 

The Falcons scored the first points of the second half, a layup off a Wolf Pack turnover that trimmed Nevada's lead to four points with 18:58 left in the game. 

Hymes responded for Nevada with a vicious two-handed dunk to push the Pack's lead back up to six.  

A pair of Air Force free throws cut Nevada's lead down to four; but, Lucas began to heat up, beginning with a transition 3-pointer at the 16:25 mark to give Nevada a 35-28 advantage. 

Less than a minute later, Lucas came off a screen and splashed another 3-pointer while drawing a foul, and he went on to make the free throw and convert the four-point play.  

Air Force scored four consecutive points to get back within seven points of the Pack, however, Lucas drilled another 3-pointer, as he scored 10 points in a 2:19 span. Nevada held a 42-32 lead after Lucas' third triple of the second half with 14:06 remaining in the contest. 

Three consecutive points from Blackshear following the 3-pointer by Lucas extended Nevada's lead up to 13 points, as the Pack took a 45-32 advantage with 12:27 to go in the game. 

Air Force refused to give up, as the Falcons countered back with consecutive 3-pointers, trimming the Pack's lead back down to seven points with 11:45 left. 

Blackshear finished another tough layup in the paint to put Nevada up 47-38, however, Air Force scored back-to-back buckets to get within five points of the Pack. 

Another difficult layup from Blackshear expanded Nevada's lead to 49-42 with 8:54 to go; but, Air Force splashed another 3-pointer, as they cut the Pack's lead down to just four points with 7:39 remaining in the game. 

Nevada scored three straight points, however, the Falcons fired back with a triple yet again.  

Leading by four points with 6:25 to go, the Pack took complete control of the game, as they reeled off a 7-0 run over the next two minutes and 50 seconds to build a commanding 59-48 lead with just 3:35 left. 

Davidson sparked the run, as he took a pass near the 3-point line in transition and euro-stepped past an Air Force defender on his way to a huge slam dunk. Blackshear then scored back-to-back buckets in the paint, the second of which was in addition to a foul, and he converted the and-one opportunity to put the Pack up by 11. 

Nevada outscored Air Force 8-6 over the final 3:08, going on to earn the 13-point victory in their Mountain West home opener.  

Notable Stats: 

  • Nevada is one of two teams in the country with 15 wins this season. 

  • The Pack is 9-0 at Lawlor Events Center this season, and 23-1 at home since the start of the 2022-23 season. 

  • K.J. Hymes recorded a season-high three blocks in the game. 

  • After scoring 14 points, Jarod Lucas has now reached double figures in scoring in all 16 games for Nevada this season. 

  • Daniel Foster earned a plus/minus of +14 in 20 minutes of action, marking the second-best plus/minus of any player throughout the game. 

  • Kenan Blackshear matched a career-high with two blocks in the contest. 

  • Nick Davidson recorded the second double-double of his career with a 12-point, 10-rebound performance.  

  • Nevada scored 21 points off 13 Air Force turnovers. 

  • The Pack outscored Air Force in the paint, 26-16. 

Up Next 

Nevada will have a quick turnaround before returning to the court this Friday, Jan. 10 when they are set to host Boise State at 7:30 p.m. 

Follow The Pack    

Follow Nevada Men's Basketball on social media at @NevadaHoops (X), @nevadahoops (Instagram), and on Facebook at @NevadaMBB  

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