LOGAN, Utah - Nick Davidson scored a career-high 25 points, Kenan Blackshear poured in 18 of his own, and Head Coach Steve Alford earned his 675th career victory on Tuesday night, as the Nevada Men's Basketball team defeated #22 Utah State on the road by a final score of 77-63.

The victory marks the Pack's first road win over a ranked opponent since 1981, and the 14-point win is Nevada's largest margin of victory over a ranked team in program history. The victory also marked the 675th career victory for Alford as a Head Coach, as he continues to climb up the ranks, and is currently 11th among all active Division I Head Coaches in career wins.

The Pack has now defeated two ranked opponents this season and four overall since the start of the 2022-23 season. 

Following the victory, Nevada owns an overall record of 18-5, including a mark of 5-4 in Mountain West play. 

Utah State entered the matchup with a perfect mark of 10-0 at home; however, the Pack dominated the Aggies, as Nevada held the lead for 26 minutes and 12 seconds throughout the game. 

Nevada was exceptional on the offensive end of the court, as they completed the contest with clips of 52.9 percent shooting from the field, 40.0 percent from behind the arc, and 76.0 percent at the free throw line. The Pack recorded 17 assists on 27 made field goals, and Nevada outscored Utah State in the paint, 38-30.

The Pack also put together a stout defensive performance, limiting the Aggies to their second lowest scoring output of the season on just 39.3 percent shooting from the field and 23.8 percent from behind the arc. 

Davidson was sensational for the second straight game, breaking his previous career-high that was set in Friday's victory over San Jose State by dropping 25 points on 10-14 shooting from the field and 3-5 from behind the arc against the Aggies. Davidson also corralled a game-high 10 rebounds, as he recorded his second consecutive double-double and his fourth overall this season. 

Blackshear turned in an outstanding performance, particularly in the second half, as he scored 18 points in the game, 12 of which came over the final 20 minutes. Blackshear also dished out four assists, recorded two steals, and he completed the contest with a game-high plus/minus of +22 in 28 minutes of action.

Jarod Lucas did not have his usual scoring output; however, the fifth-year senior managed to score nine points, while also matching a career-high by dishing out four assists. 

Tre Coleman was stellar on both ends of the court throughout the evening, completing the contest with eight points on 3-5 shooting from the field, in addition to pulling down four rebounds, dishing out two assists, recording two steals, and tallying one block.

The Pack received highly impactful performances off the bench from Daniel Foster and Tyler Rolison. 

Foster scored seven points on 1-2 shooting from the field and a perfect 5-5 at the free throw line, while also recording one steal and one block apiece. 

Rolison was tremendous off the bench for Nevada. Playing in a hostile road environment, the freshman was not phased by the raucous crowd, as he scored five points, pulled down four rebounds, dished out four assists, and recorded two steals in 17 minutes of action. 

The victory marked Nevada's fourth win in a true road contest this season, as well as the Pack's seventh overall win away from Lawlor Events Center. 

First Half

Utah State commenced the scoring in the contest, knocking down a pair of free throws to take a 2-0 lead 50 seconds into the game.

Davidson responded for Nevada, driving past his defender, and finishing a contested reverse layup to even up the score.

A quick 4-0 spurt from Utah State gave the Aggies a 6-2 lead; but, Davidson made another difficult shot in the paint to cut the deficit to two points at the 16:13 mark.

Utah State expanded their lead up to five points after knocking down a 3-pointer; however, Blackshear scored his first bucket of the game to trim the Aggies' lead down to three points.

Utah State maintained their lead and found themselves ahead of the Pack 17-12 with 8:27 remaining in the first half. 

Trailing by five, Nevada ripped off an instrumental 14-2 run over the next 3:53 of game time. Rolison sparked the run, draining a contested mid-range jumper late in the shot clock. After a defensive stop, Coleman splashed a 3-pointer off a pass from Blackshear, as Nevada tied up the game at 17-17 for the first time since it was 2-2.

Utah State knocked down a pair of free throws after the Coleman 3-pointer; but, Davidson scored a bucket in the paint to tie the game once again at the 7:03 mark.

The Pack took their first lead of the contest just under a minute later, as Rolison recorded a steal and took it coast-to-coast, finishing a difficult layup at the rim. 

On Nevada's next offensive possession, Davidson splashed a 3-pointer off a beautiful pass from Lucas, as Nevada expanded their lead to 24-19 with 5:26 left in the half. 

After getting another defensive stop, it was Blackshear's turn to go coast-to-coast, as the fifth-year senior sliced through the Aggies defense in transition and finished a layup in the paint, completing the game-changing run for the Pack.

Nevada outscored Utah State 10-8 over the remainder of the first half, taking a 36-27 lead into the break. 

Second Half

Blackshear opened the second half in stellar fashion, driving by his defender and throwing down a vicious two-handed slam, as Nevada took their first double-digit lead of the night, holding a 38-27 advantage with 19:22 to go. 

The Aggies responded with a bucket of their own; but, Rolison got out in transition and found Hymes in the lane who proceeded to flush a massive dunk while drawing a foul, as Nevada took a 40-29 lead at the 18:15 mark.

Utah State slowly chipped into the Pack's lead, and Nevada found themselves ahead by just three points with 11:37 remaining in the game.

The Pack responded by reeling off a quick 4-0 run, as Lucas and Blackshear knocked down two free throws apiece, giving Nevada a 54-47 advantage with 10:15 to go.

One minute later, Utah State cut the lead down to five points; but, Blackshear once again had an answer for Nevada, as he recorded a steal and finished a layup on the other end. 

The Aggies got within five points once again at the 8:16 mark; however, Nevada had an answer again, this time from Davidson. Blackshear found him open behind the arc and Davidson drained his third 3-pointer of the night, as the Pack took an eight-point lead with just under eight minutes remaining. 

Nevada completely shut down the Aggies down the stretch, limiting them to just 12 points on 3-8 shooting from the field over the final eight minutes of the game. 

Nevada knocked down 7-8 free throws down the stretch and expanded their lead up to as much as 18 points, as they took the raucous crowd out of the game and went on to earn their second victory over a ranked opponent this season, and first victory over a ranked team in a true road contest since 1981. 

Notable Stats

• Nick Davidson set new career-highs in points (25) and field goals (10), while pulling down 10 rebounds to record his fourth double-double of the season.

• The 63 points scored by Utah State is the second fewest points that they have scored this season and their lowest scoring output at home.

• Nevada was +2 in turnover margin. 

• The Pack knocked down 19 free throws on 25 attempts. 

• Nevada limited Utah State to just six points in transition throughout the game.

• Nevada had four different players record two steals in the contest. 

• The win marked Head Coach Steve Alford's 675th career victory, as well as his fourth victory over a ranked opponent at the helm of the Wolf Pack program.

Up Next

Nevada will return home to host #24 San Diego State at Lawlor Events Center this Friday at 5 p.m.

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