Nevada Basketball: Wolf Pack victorious in Coach Musselman's debut

The Eric Musselman era started off on the right foot in Hawaii on Friday.

The Wolf Pack were down 23-21 to Coastal Carolina at the end of the first half but in the second half, Nevada outscored Coastal Carolina 52-33 to give the Wolf Pack a convincing win over the Chanticleers 73-56 in the Outriggers Resort Rainbow Classic in Honolulu. Nevada at one point was down by nine points to Coastal Carolina but went on a 16-1 scoring run at the midway point of the second half to take control of the game that they never let go.

Junior guard DJ Fenner led all Wolf Pack scorers with 16 points and also grabbed eight rebounds in the winning effort while senior guard Marqueze Coleman scored 14 points and went 10 for 12 from the free throw line. Senior forward AJ West earned his first double-double of the season scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds and freshman sensation Cameron Oliver came off the bench to score 13 points tonight.  For Coastal Carolina, senior forward Badou Diagne scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds and his fellow teammate, sophomore guard Jaylen Shaw, score 13 points. Coming off the bench for the Chanticleers, senior forward Marcus Freeman notched a double-double for himself as he scored ten points and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Nevada shot 40 percent from the field while holding Coastal Carolina to 30 percent shooting from the field. Also, the Nevada defense showed up tonight as they forced 17 Coastal Carolina turnovers which led to 20 points for the Wolf Pack. Nevada's bench played well tonight as they outscored Coastal Carolina's bench 27-14 and Nevada also shot a better percentage from the free throw line as they shot 66 percent from the charity stripe compared to only 57 percent for Coastal Carolina.

The hunt continues for the Wolf Pack in the Rainbow Classic as they play their second game in Honolulu against the Montana State Bobcats on Sunday.