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Needing a win after a heart breaking loss to Wyoming, the Nevada Wolf Pack (11-10, 6-2) bounced back for a win against the Colorado State Rams (12-9, 3-5).
Nevada got plenty of contributions from role players, like Cole Huff and Michael Perez, but point guard Deonte Burton again led the way for the Wolf Pack with 18 points. Center AJ West also made his presence felt with a big night of 12 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 blocks. When West has big games, Nevada is nearly impossible to beat. In fact it's the biggest reason for the Wolf Pack's turnaround from nonconference to conference play.
Jon Octeus, the Colorado State guard, was the leading scoring in the game with 21 points going 12-12 from the free throw line. Junior Daniel Bejarano had a double double for the Rams with 17 points and 10 boards. A key to the game for the Wolf Pack was to limit forward J.J. Avila and they did just that, holding him to 12 points and 8 rebounds, which was key due to the lack of bench production from the Rams.
The game was close throughout as many expected. Colorado State's biggest issue in the game was their inefficient shooting from behind the arc, an on going problem for the Rams, only going 3-18 (17%) from three. The Wolf Pack on the other hand used an 11-0 run mid-second half to stretch their minimal lead out for good. Nevada made their free throws at the end of the game to finally put the Rams away with the score ending 76-67.
Nevada returns to action at home this Saturday against Air Force, while Colorado State travels to San Diego State to attempt to give the Aztecs their first conference loss.
