Nevada’s Kenan Blackshear against San Diego State on Feb. 6, 2022 at Viejas Arena in San Diego. (Photo: Nevada Athletics)
Grading the Nevada Wolf Pack’s 65-63 loss at San Diego State on Sunday:
STARTERS
DESMOND CAMBRIDGE: B
Cambridge never left the floor as Grant Sherfield (foot) and Warren Washington (finger) missed the game again with injuries. Cambridge, who played the final 37 minutes against Fresno State on Friday and the entire 40 minutes at San Diego State two days later, did his best to keep the Pack in the game, nailing a pair of threes in the final two minutes. He drained 5-of-10 outside the arc and is now 7-of-14 from long distance over his last two games after a 1-for-9 showing against UNLV last Tuesday.
But this game was yet another reminder that Cambridge’s offense is far too dependent on his three-point shot. That’s fine with Sherfield on the floor but without Sherfield he needs to be a bit more versatile. Cambridge was just 1-of-6 inside the arc, just 1-of-2 from the line and had just one assist and disappeared for long stretches offensively in both the first and second half.
KENAN BLACKSHEAR: B-
Blackshear, thrust into the uncomfortable role of replacing Sherfield at the point, had six assists, three in each half. Five of his six assists came on Wolf Pack 3-pointers (three by Cambridge) so he’s not really breaking down enemy defenses like a true point guard. And when he wasn’t finding open shooters for threes, Blackshear struggled to avoid foul trouble (four), protect the ball (three turnovers) and score (10 points on 4-of-12 shooting).
But he’s doing the best he can after watching Sherfield run the team for the first 18 games. There’s a reason, after all, why Sherfield hardly ever left the floor. Blackshear, though, has terrific energy and determination. His 3-pointer tied the game (30-30) 90 seconds into the second half and his short jumper gave the Pack a 35-34 lead with 16:40 to go. But then he never scored again and took just two shots.
WILL BAKER: B
Baker had a solid afternoon, scoring 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting (2-of-3 threes) and pulling down eight rebounds. He had a chance to win the game with a 3-pointer at the buzzer but he caught the ball in the corner and stepped out of bounds before his shot hit the side of the backboard. His first 3-pointer gave the Pack a 38-36 lead with 15:36 to play and his second came just 42 seconds later to put the Pack up 41-39. His only two points in the final 14:54 cut the Aztec lead to 58-57 with 5:14 left.
Baker has now scored between 11-14 points in each of his last eight games. Baker, though, is basically a jump-shooting 7-foot center and can’t do what the more physical Washington does in the paint on offense and defense. He had no fouls, no blocks and no steals against the Aztecs and didn’t get to the free throw line once.
DANIEL FOSTER: C-
Foster’s six points are the most he’s had since he had eight against Air Force on Jan. 15. He also had more successful free throws (2-for-2) than Cambridge, Baker and Blackshear combined. His dunk, off a pass from Tre Coleman, gave the Pack a 20-9 lead seven minutes into the game. He even blocked a shot by Lamont Butler in the paint five minutes earlier. Four of Foster’s six points came in the first seven minutes of the game when the Pack built its 22-9 lead.
Foster, as always, gave the Pack an energetic effort doing what he does best, keeping the ball moving on offense and being a pest on defense. Unfortunately, though, he was able to stay on the floor for just 20 minutes because of foul trouble. He also had just one rebound and one assist in those 20 minutes.
TRE COLEMAN: B-
The good news is that Coleman found the courage to get off nine shots and was also 2-of-2 from the free throw line. The bad news is that he missed seven of those nine shots. But Coleman gave the Pack a solid 33 minutes overall. He nailed one of his two 3-point shots and is now a promising 3-of-5 from beyond the arc in his last two games combined after going 5-of-39 over his previous 17 games.
Coleman’s three gave the Pack an 18-5 lead six minutes into the game. He also had eight rebounds, four assists and a steal and added seven points in one of his best all-around games as a Pack player the last two seasons.
BENCH
ALEM HUSEINOVIC: C
Huseinovic had the play of the game for the Pack at the end of the first half. He stole the ball from Matt Bradley and streaked to the other end of the court, flipping up a prayer of an underhanded shot from about the free throw line just before the buzzer. The play cut the Aztecs’ lead to just 28-27 at halftime and gave the Pack its first reason to get excited, it seemed, since Sherfield and Washington got hurt last week. That play at the end of the half was his only shot of the game in 17 minutes. He was called for three fouls, turned the ball over twice and had just one rebounds.
K.J. HYMES: C
Hymes played just 11 minutes but made his presence known with three points, three rebounds and three fouls. Hymes struggled in the first half, committing two fouls and turning the ball over once as the Pack was outscored 8-0 in his five minutes on the floor. In the second half, though, he had an offensive rebound and a layup for a 47-45 Pack lead with 10:46 to play and his free throw tied the game at 48-48 with 10:05 left. Hymes, however, only played 18 seconds of the final 9:38.
DeANDRE HENRY: B
Henry played just nine minutes (he’s played just 70 all season) but the 6-7 sophomore had three points, made his only shot and had three rebounds. He played the final 5:16 of the first half and had a pair of rebounds. He entered the game with 7:30 to play in the second half and the Pack trailing 55-50 and had a three-point play to cut the deficit to 58-55 with 5:49 to go. His defensive rebound led to a Baker bucket as the Pack got to within 58-57 with 5:14 to go. He was then sent to the bench with 4:03 to play, never to return.
JALEN WEAVER: Incomplete
Weaver played seven minutes, missed his only shot (late in the first half) and had a steal. The bulk of his playing time came in the first half when he played the final 4:49 before the half.
COACHING: A
Steve Alford finally found a way to make his depleted Wolf Pack competitive and almost stole an improbable victory on the road. Yes, we understand the Aztecs aren’t playing very well right now and have just one player (Matt Bradley) who can score. And about half the Viejas Arena was empty despite the announced attendance of 10,330.
But this was the Wolf Pack’s most promising performance since the first 34 minutes at Colorado State on Jan. 25. The Pack, playing a game after a lifeless 73-56 loss at Fresno State less than 48 hours before, fought and stayed confident to the end.
Despite the loss, there is now hope the season can indeed turn around once Sherfield and Washington return to the floor. The Pack probably wins this game if the officials didn’t call 22 of the 38 fouls on the them and give the Aztecs a 17-7 advantage from the line. But the real reason the Pack lost is because it never found a way to contain Matt Bradley. Bradley (26 points) had as many points from the line (seven) as the Pack to go along with five threes, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. He was the only Aztec to score (11 points) over a pivotal four-minute stretch in the second half, turning a 45-42 Pack lead with 11:40 to play into a 53-50 Aztec lead with 7:40 left. That’s the kind of performance that only Sherfield can give the Pack.
OVERALL: B+
The Pack looked like it would run the Aztecs off their own home court, taking a 22-9 lead just seven-plus minutes into the game. The Pack was 9-of-11 from the floor, hitting 4-of-5 threes, with six assists in those first seven-plus minutes. Yes, of course, nobody expected that to last. But the next 12:30 of the final 12:46 of the first half were an ugly reminder of what we’ve seen throughout much of this current five-game losing streak.
The Aztecs went on a 19-2 run to take a 28-24 lead as the Pack offense completely dried up. The offense vanished once again over a seven-minute stretch in the second half, turning a 43-39 lead into a 58-50 deficit with 6:45 to play as the Pack grew weary trying to keep up with Bradley.
But some losses are more encouraging than some victories. The Wolf Pack should have felt much better about itself after this loss than the Aztecs should have felt about themselves after their win, nearly losing to a depleted Wolf Pack team at home.
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