Men’s Basketball beats New Mexico 77-76 in tight conference game

By Jalen Robinson

The Wolf Pack were on the road in Albuquerque, N.M. on Tuesday, Feb. 7 facing off against another in conference foe in the 19-4 New Mexico Lobos. Playing in another must-win game for both teams, the Wolf Pack looked to top the Lobos one more time for the series sweep of the season. As expected, it was a hard-fought battle between both teams with the score being 45-41 Wolf Pack advantage at halftime. For the Lobos, this was the epitome of a must win game. Steve Alford, the Wolf Pack’s head coach, was previously New Mexico’s coach, and had their number since leaving the program, especially now being back in the Mountain West. The Wolf Pack squeaked out the much needed win with 77-76, but at the cost of three key players playing over 33 minutes in Will Baker, Nevada center, and Deron Williams and Jarod Lucas, Nevada guards. Sitting right under Nevada in third place, the Lobos looked to make the standings that much more complicated for all Wolf Pack fans. Being complicated wasn’t in the cards for Lucas. Lucas looked to solidify another conference win and put the Wolf Pack in sole possession of second place. He made a statement by scoring and tying his season high of 28 points while grabbing three rebounds.

Williams and Baker also made key contributions. Williams produced eight points, five rebounds and five assists. Baker scored 10 points while grabbing five rebounds as well.

With the Mountain West tournament on the horizon, the Wolf Pack men’s basketball team prevails again but look to continue their hot streak until seasons end. The Pack face off against the Fresno State Bulldogs next at home. The Bulldogs are on a two-game winning streak although sitting close to the Jalen Robinson can be reached at draridon@unr.edu or on Twitter @ jalenrobinsonn.

The men’s basketball team has not been safe from the premier conference teams either. Utah State, currently third in the conference, has already been brought up, but the program has also dropped games to San Diego State, first, and Boise State, second, on the road. And in both games, Nevada lost by nine and 15 points, respectfully.

Is the men’s basketball team destined to get firstrounded out of the Mountain West conference tournament? Will they be unable to compete in the NCAA March Madness tournament? Not necessarily.

Despite their lackluster performances on the road, the men’s basketball team has still shown some promise during the season. And if San Diego State gets upset by either the eighth or ninth seed in the Mountain West conference tournament, Nevada would play against either Fresno State, Air Force, or Colorado State in the semifinals, which are all teams the program has gone undefeated against in the regular season.

Plus, every game after Saturday will be played at a neutral site. Yes, the conference tournament will be played in Las Vegas, making Nevada public enemy number one while competing due to the in-state rivalry. But UNLV, the host team, will most likely not make it further than the semifinals as, at the time of writing, they will be facing teams that they have lost both home and away games to. And in their only neutral tournament, the Cayman Islands Classic, Nevada went 2-1, only losing to the Kansas State Wildcats, who sit at No. 11 at the time of writing.

In order for the Wolf Pack men to truly be able to compete past March 4, they need to reciprocate their performance at the Cayman Islands Classic. The crowds will be pitted against them, especially as they start to grow and become more rowdy and energetic as the Pack begins their postseason run. The Nevada men will have to look past this and become the team that contended with K-State, that beat Tulane and Akron once more to truly take on the expectations set by their play this season.

So, it’s not that all hope is lost and everyone should turn against the Wolf Pack. However, if trends continue the way they have been and no change occurs, the home dominant men’s basketball team may not fulfill the hype that they have accumulated.

Opinions expressed by Derek Raridon are solely those of the author and do not necessarily express the views of The Sagebrush or its staff. Derek Raridon is a student at the University of Nevada studying journalism. He can be reached at draridon@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @ NevadaSagebrush.

Nevada women drop to San Diego State 67-51 in Thursday night shutout

By Jalen Robinson

Like the men’s team last week at home, the Nevada women’s basketball team looked to replicate the same level of dominance over the San Diego State Aztecs at home on Feb. 9.

Looking to continue on a high note after winning their second away victory of the year against the Utah State Aggies, the Pack went into Thursday looking for their third set of back-to-back wins.

Unfortunately, the Pack did not capitalize at home and lost to the Aztecs 67-51. From the tip, the Wolf Pack’s offense shots were not falling like the previous games. The weak offense was mainly due to one of their top scorers Audrey Roden, Nevada guard, being out because of suspension. Trailing 39-22 at the half, the Pack tried to pick up the slack with one of their top players b, Alyssa Gimenez, Nevada guard. Gimenez went for a team-high 13 points with three rebounds, two steals and one assist while also going 9-9 from free throws. Adding on was Victoria Davis, Nevada point guard, who went for 12 points, two rebounds and two steals while also going 6-6 for free throws. With a tough loss at home that now makes the Pack 9-15 overall and stoops under .500 in the conference at

6-7. Amanda Levens, Nevada head coach, encountered many upsides. Off the bench, Gabby Rones, Nevada guard, had a seven point game while having two assists and grabbing two rebounds. Lexie Givens, Nevada forward, grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, continuing her amazing rebounding season. With only five games left on the women’s basketball team’s schedule, the Pack still look to finish their season on a high note. Looking to not only win out their remaining conference games but to also finish above .500 in conference play. The Wolf Pack Women’s basketball team looks to bounce back in their next matchup against the 1411 New Mexico Lobos at home this Saturday. The Lobos sit right on top of the Wolf Pack in Mountain West standings, poised to keep their position and also finish above .500 in conference play as well.