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The Nevada Wolf Pack opened up the 2014-15 regular season with a 65-49 win over the Cal Poly Mustangs at the Lawlor Events Center in front of a crowd of 5,060 in attendance. Sophomore Guard D.J. Fenner led all scorers with twelve points and six rebounds and Marqueze Coleman was the second leading scorer on the team with eleven points and Michael Perez contributed ten points as ten of the eleven Wolf Pack players scored a field goal and as a team, the Wolf Pack shot 41 percent from the field. The Wolf Pack on offense showed great scoring balance which is much needed for a team that lost its top three scorers from last season.
On Defense for the Wolf Pack, Forward AJ West finished with six blocks and was a defensive presence whether he was blocking shots or altering the shot selection of Mustang players who were trying to score in the paint. The Wolf Pack held Cal Poly to 31 percent shooting from the field and held the Mustangs to under 50 points.
Guard Reese Morgan was the leading scorer for the Mustangs as he contributed 13 points and David Nwaba scored 11 points as well for Cal Poly but the Wolf Pack defense really put the clamps on the Mustang offense in the second half. While shooting just 31% from the field, the Mustangs shot only 18 percent from three point range.
Cal Poly actually led the Wolf Pack 28-26 after a free throw by Nwaba to begin the second half but the Wolf Pack aided by the defense of AJ West and a offensive punch of Coleman and Fenner, went on a eight to zero scoring run and never lost the lead and after increasing the lead to 11, the Wolf pack went on another scoring run, this time it was a 9-2 run in the final four minutes which was capped off by a Michael Perez three-pointer towards the end of the game as the Wolf Pack closed out the Mustangs for their first win of the season.
This was the 90th win in head coach David Carter's career while at Nevada and he improves to 3-3 in season openers since becoming head coach for the Wolf Pack. Up next for the 1-0 Wolf Pack are the Adams State Grizzlies on Monday at 7 p.m. PT at the Lawlor Events Center.