Senior power forward Jordan Caroline recorded 15 points, 12 rebounds and seven assists to help No. 6 Nevada post a 72-49 victory over Utah State on Wednesday night in the Mountain West opener for both teams at Reno, Nev.
Senior forward Cody Martin added 14 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals as Nevada (14-0) remained one of the nation's four unbeaten teams. Senior forward Tre'Shawn Thurman had 14 points, four steals and three blocked shots while junior guard Jazz Johnson tallied 10 points.
Junior guard Sam Merrill scored 16 points for Utah State (10-4). Freshman guard Brock Miller scored 10 points, and freshman center Neemias Queta had eight points, 10 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Nevada connected on just 39.3 percent of its shots and was 7 of 29 from 3-point range. Wolf Pack standout senior guard Caleb Martin scored a season-low seven points before fouling out.
The Aggies made a woeful 26.2 percent of their field-goal attempts, including 4 of 23 from behind the arc. Utah State committed 20 turnovers while Nevada had 16 miscues.
The Wolf Pack led by 10 points at the break and pushed the margin to 54-37 on a 3-pointer by Johnson with 11:51 remaining.
Nevada then went more than four minutes without a point but the Aggies failed to capitalize as they scored just three points during that span.
Cody Martin broke the drought with a layup with 7:47 left, and Johnson drained a 3-pointer 15 seconds later to give the Wolf Pack a 59-40 advantage. A basket by senior forward Trey Porter pushed the margin to 21 with 6:39 remaining.
The lead topped out at 23 points as Nevada cruised to the finish.
Cody Martin and Thurman each scored 10 first-half points as Nevada held a 35-25 halftime advantage.
Both players scored four points during an 8-0 burst that gave the Wolf Pack a 25-13 lead with 6:54 remaining in the half.
Utah State responded with a 12-4 run and pulled within 29-25 on Merrill's 3-pointer with 1:42 left.
Nevada scored the final six points of the half with both Cody Martin and senior guard Corey Henson notching steals and driving for baskets for the final four points of the stanza.
--Field Level Media
Utah St. | Nevada | |
Sam Merrill 16 | Scoring | Jordan Caroline 15 |
Abel Porter 3 | Assists | Jordan Caroline 7 |
Neemias Queta 10 | Rebounds | Jordan Caroline 12 |
Brock Miller 4 | Free Throws Made | Jordan Caroline 5 |
Justin Bean 2 | Steals | Cody Martin 4 |
Neemias Queta 5 | Blocks | Tre'Shawn Thurman 3 |