None of the Mountain West Conference games are going to be easy and Air Force proved that to Nevada on Tuesday night.
The Falcons took Nevada to the wire before the Pack recovered and came away with a 68-62 win in front of 7,430 fans at Lawlor Events Center on Tuesday.
Tre Coleman led Nevada with 18 points and nine rebounds and Kobe Sanders had 11 points as the Wolf Pack improved to 2-0 in the Mountain West, 10-7 overall. Coleman also had four assists and Sanders had five.
The six-point margin at the end was Nevada’s largest lead of the game.
Next, Nevada hosts San Jose State, at 3 p.m. Saturday. The Spartans upset New Mexico, 71-70, on Tuesday.
There were 10 lead changes and seven ties. Air Force led, 60-59, with 3 minutes, 21 seconds left.
Kobe Sanders hit a bucket to give Nevada a 61-60 lead with 2:36 remaining, then Daniel Foster hit a 3-pointer to give the Pack some breathing room.
Ethan Taylor led the Falcons (3-14, 0-6) with 22 points and Kyle Marshall added 12.
Nevada coach Steve Alford said he liked his team’s fight. saying they won the last four minutes of the first half, 12-4 and the last four minutes of the second half, 12-2.
Key Stats
Nevada was dismal from the free throw line, connecting on 10-of-23. including four straight in the final minute.
The Pack missed the front end of four free throws, which Alford said actually made them 10-of-27 from the stripe.
“If we make our foul shots, then this game is a different look,” Alford said. “It’s really an odd deal because we started out the year so well (on free throws) and now we’ve got to be one of the worst fouls shooting teams in the league. It was an ugly game because of our foul shooting.”
Nevada had 30 points in the paint, to 18 for the Falcons.
Nick Davidson was 0-for-5 from the free throw line and he stayed well after the game Tuesday night shooting free throw after free throw. He had nine points and four assists in the game.
Air Force hit 10-of-27 from 3-point rahge and Nevad awas 6-of-014 from the arc.
Daniel Foster
Foster started and played 29 minutes, scoring five points on 2-of-4 from the field.
Alford said Foster does what the coaches want him to do.
“Daniel has a incredibly competitive mind. He wants to win and he knows he can influence wins without scoring. He guards like crazy. He rebounds. He gets loose balls,” Alford said. “And now we’re asking him to play some point (guard) to help Kobe out.”
First Half
Air Force led 35-33 at the break after the Wolf Pack tied it at 33 . The Pack trailed by 11 (31-20) with 5:06 left in the half.
Nevada made just 2-of-8 free throws in the first half, including three misses on front ends of one-and-ones. The Pack was 3-of-9 from the arc. Air Force made 5-of-6 free throws and 6-of-12 from 3-pont range.
The Series
Nevada leads the overall series with Air Force 18-3 and has won five straight in the series.
Up Next
San Jose State plays Nevada at Lawlor Events Center at 3 p.m. Saturday.
The Spartans (9-10, 2-5) beat New Mexico 71-70 on Tuesday night.
Nevada’s Remaining Schedule
- Jan. 18, San José State at Nevada, 3 p.m. (TV: KNSN, Radio: 95.5 FM)
- Jan. 22, Nevada at Utah State, 6 p.m. (TV: FS1, Radio: 95.5 FM)
- Jan. 25, Nevada at San Diego State, 7 p.m. (TV: CBS SN, Radio: 95.5 FM)
- Jan. 29, Nevada at Boise State, 7 p.m.
- Feb. 1, UNLV at Nevada, 8 p.m.
- Feb. 4, Nevada at Air Force, 6 p.m.
- Feb. 10, Fresno State at Nevada, 8 p.m.
- Feb. 14, Nevada at San Jose State, 7 p.m.
- Feb. 18, Nevada at Colorado State, 6 p.m.
- Feb. 22, Boise State at Nevada, 3 p.m.
- Feb. 25, Wyoming at Nevada, 7 p.m.
- Feb. 28, Nevada at UNLV, 8 p.m.
- March 4, New Mexico at Nevada, 6 p.m.
- March 8, Nevada at San Diego State, 7:30 p.m.
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