Three-Peat: Nevada pastes SDSU, win Mountain West title

For the third-straight season, the Nevada men’s basketball team cut down the nets. The Pack’s 81-53 senior night victory over SDSU clinched another Mountain West title with a 28-win season and a 15-3 conference record.

Both Nevada and Utah State will share the conference title and No. 1 seed in the tournament.

A sold-out crowd of 11,243 gave farewell to seven total seniors in a pre-game ceremony. Corey Henson, David Cunningham, Trey Porter, Jordan Caroline and the Martin twins all played their final game at Lawlor Events Center.

THE RUNDOWN:

OFFENSE:

• Nevada shot 53 percent from the floor and 39 percent from three (9-23). Four players scored in double-figures. The Pack also recorded seven points from the free throw line.
• Martin Twins Ball Out in Final Home Game: Caleb and Cody Martin put a memorable stamp on their final home game. Caleb tallied a game-high 25 points and seven assists. Cody followed with 14 points and and four rebounds. The brothers have put on a show at Lawlor the past two years, and they gave the fans another gem.

• Cody gave the fans a treat with his hot shot from three-point range the past few games.

• Jordan Caroline With a Signature Performance: Jordan Caroline capped-off his final game at Lawlor with another double-double, scoring 16 points and adding 12 rebounds. From the pre-game introduction to the chant between intermissions, Caroline will truly be missed by the Lawlor fans.

• Oh, and Trey Porter gave the fans a treat with an alley-oop slam.

DEFENSE:

• San Diego State shot 34 percent from the field and 47 percent from behind the arc (10-21). Three players scored in double-figures. Jeremy Hemsley scored a team-high 16 points on 6-11 shooting. Devin Watson added 14 points and two rebounds.
• McDaniels on Lockdown: The Wolf Pack held the Aztecs’ leading scorer, Jalen McDainels, to five points on 2-10 shooting. McDaniels picked up four personal fouls midway through the second half and the Pack capitalized, they outscored SDSU 39-16 in the final twenty minutes.
• Rebounding Battle: Nevada won the rebounding battle 42-25, keeping forwards Matt Mitchell and Nathan Mensah off the boards was a huge spark. Three players recorded five rebounds or more for the Pack.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

That’s one way to end the regular season. Nevada was in a groove from the tip and dominated both sides of the floor. Heading into neutral site territory, the Pack must play at a high level to keep its tournament hopes alive.

NEXT UP:

Nevada will play the winner of the Colorado State-Boise State matchup Wednesday, March 13 in the Mountain West Tournament at the Thomas and Mack Center.