Nevada cruises past Fresno State 73-57

The Nevada Wolf Pack downed the Fresno State Bulldogs 73-57 Friday in Lawlor Events Center in Reno, Nev. Nevada has won seven consecutive games against Fresno State.

Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson, in his second season with the program, is winless in four appearances against the Wolf Pack — the only Mountain West foe he hasn’t beaten.

The 16-point margin falls one point shy of Nevada’s largest margin-of-victory against a Division-I opponent this year. The Pack are 6-1 this year when they record 70-plus points.

Friday’s victory boosts Nevada to 9-5 with a 4-3 Mountain record, breaking its tie it had with the Bulldogs entering the contest. Fresno State drops to 5-4 with a 3-4 conference record on the year. Nevada has won its four conference games by a combined 57 points.

The Pack shot 51.9 percent from the floor and 43.9 percent from deep.

Grant Sherfield tallied his fifth straight 20-point performance, leading the team with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting, netting four of his eight attempts from 3-point range.

Desmond Cambridge and Warren Washington totaled 13 points apiece. Cambridge shot 5-for-12 shooting, including 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. Warren Washington tallied 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting.

Cambridge finished with team-highs in rebounds (8) and assists (5). Washington tallied seven rebounds, while Sherfield recorded five rebounds, four assists and a steal.

Though it garnered just three steals and forced 11 turnovers, the Pack were active defensively all evening — holding Fresno State to just 37.5 percent shooting. It struggled mightily from distance all evening, shooting just 28 percent from beyond the arc.

Isaiah Hill went 3-of-5 from deep and tied a team-high in points with 15. The rest of the team went 4-of-20 (20 percent) from 3-point range. Hill also finished with a team-most seven assists.

Orlando Robinson tallied 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting and a team-high six rebounds. Robinson has recorded double figure scoring in each of the team’s nine games to begin the season.

As a team, Nevada performed well on the glass. It out-rebounded Fresno State, who ranked in the Top-20 nationally in rebounding margin (plus-9.1), 37-26. The Bulldogs were limited just seven offensive rebounds after averaging more than double that amount (14.1 orpg) entering the contest.

Both teams started slowly, combining for just nine points in the first six minutes of the contest.

Washington’s hook shot gave the Pack a 16-10 lead with 9:25 to in the first half. Robinson’s second-chance putback awarded Fresno State the 19-18 lead.

Back-to-back baskets by Cambridge gave Nevada the 25-21 lead with 3:29 remaining in the opening half. As the half drew on, both teams peeled the lid off the basket. The following four combined baskets — two by each team — were made from the outside.

The Wolf Pack held a 36-31 halftime lead. They shot 55.6 percent with a 45.5 3-point percentage in the first half. Fresno State shot 38.7 percent and 23.1 percent from deep.

A quick 10-2 run in the first 2:27 of the second half — capped off by two consecutive 3-pointers from Sherfield and Cambridge — extended the Pack advantage to 46-33. Nevada took a 51-37 lead with 14:24 remaining courtesy of a floater from Sherfield.

Fresno State cut the advantage to 58-50 after a 3-pointer from Destin Whitaker, but a 7-0 Nevada run extended the advantage back up to 15 with seven minutes to go. Its lead did not fall below 13 points the remainder of the contest.

Up next:

The two foes will meet on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. PST on CBS Sports Network.