Courtesy of Nevada Athletics

SEATTLE, Wash. – Kenan Blackshear dropped a career-high 31 points, pulled down six rebounds, and dished out five assists in what was nothing short of a sensational performance, fueling the Nevada Men’s Basketball team to an 83-76 road victory over Pac-12 foe Washington, as the Pack improved to 2-0 on the season.

Nevada never trailed in the contest, leading for 39:40 throughout the game, as they displayed incredible resilience on both ends of the court for the duration of the contest.

With the win, Nevada has now won five straight games against Washington, and the victory marks the first time that the Pack has defeated a Power-Five opponent since November 2021. The victory also marks the second consecutive season that Nevada has started 2-0.

Blackshear had one of the best performances of his career, as the fifth-year senior managed to get in the lane and finishing at the rack at will no matter who was attempting to defend him. Blackshear poured in 31 points despite not attempting a 3-point field goal, as he set a new career-high in both scoring and made field goals, reaching the 31-point mark on a highly efficient 12-22 shooting from the field, and 7-10 from the free throw line. Blackshear had just one turnover with six assists, and he completed the contest with a game-high plus/minus of +10.

Redshirt-sophomore Nick Davidson turned in one of the best performances of his young career, scoring 13 points on 4-10 shooting from the field and 5-5 from the free throw line, in addition to grabbing nine rebounds, three of which came on the offensive glass. Davidson also matched a career-high by recording two steals.

Senior Tre Coleman was phenomenal on both ends of the court, scoring eight points, pulling down a career-high nine rebounds, dishing out two assists, and tallying one steal throughout the game. Coleman posted a plus/minus of +7 in 34 minutes of action.

Jarod Lucas chipped in 13 points, while knocking down all six of his free throw attempts in the contest.

For the second consecutive game, Hunter McIntosh was outstanding off the bench for Nevada, providing a huge spark on the offensive end of the court. McIntosh scored eight points on an efficient 3-4 shooting from the field, including 1-2 from behind the arc. McIntosh also recorded four rebounds and completed the contest with the second-best plus/minus in the game at +9 in 21 minutes of playing time.

The Pack did the majority of their work in the paint, as they made just two 3-pointers in the game. Nevada shot 46.2 percent from the field in the contest and scored 44 of their 83 points in the lane.

Nevada once again did a superb job of getting to the free throw line and converting those opportunities, as they knocked down 21-26 free throws for a clip of 80.8 percent.

First Half 

Nevada started the contest in strong fashion, with K.J. Hymes winning the tip and Coleman subsequently throwing down a massive one-handed slam while drawing a foul on the Pack’s first possession of the game.

The Pack managed to get a stop on the other end of the floor, and Blackshear initiated his magnificent performance by draining a contested turnaround jumper in the lane to give Nevada a 4-0 lead just over a minute into the game.

Washington scored their first bucket of the contest 11 seconds later; but, Blackshear found Hymes open in the lane for another thunderous dunk, as Nevada took a 6-2 lead at the 18:13 mark in the first period.

Another Huskies bucket trimmed the Pack’s lead back down to two, however, Coleman once again got into the paint and was able to finish at the rim, as the Pack held an 8-4 advantage two and a half minutes in.

The two teams continued to go back-and-forth, with Washington managing to cut Nevada’s lead down to just one with 14:26 left in the first half.

The Pack responded by ripping off a 5-0 run, with Hymes making a tough contested hook shot in the paint followed by a McIntosh 3-pointer, as Nevada held a 15-9 advantage entering the under 12-minute media timeout.

The Huskies scored four straight points out of the timeout to cut Nevada’s lead back down to two; but, the Pack responded again, this time in the form of a Lucas 3-pointer.

After a lone free throw by Washington, Blackshear pulled down an offensive rebound and finished a layup at the rim, extending Nevada’s lead to six. The Huskies hit another lone free throw on their next possession, and Davidson proceeded to finish a layup while drawing a foul and going on to hit the free throw to convert the and-one opportunity and give Nevada its largest lead yet, as they held a 23-15 advantage with 9:11 left in the first half.

Washington proceeded to score four consecutive points in 30 seconds, trimming Nevada’s lead to four.

The Pack responded my matching their largest run of the entire game, as Blackshear went on a personal 7-0 run over the next 1:46, propelling Nevada to a 30-19 lead with just under seven minutes remaining before halftime. The run began with a Blackshear layup, followed by a lone free throw. The fifth-year senior then got out in transition and finished another layup at the rim. He completed the 7-0 run by pulling down a rebound off a Washington miss, and going coast-to-coast, blowing by multiple defenders, and throwing down a one-handed dunk.

Nevada extended their lead to 15 points with 2:15 left in the first half after Lucas hit a contested mid-range jumper off another excellent pass from Blackshear.

The Pack entered halftime holding a 41-30 advantage over Washington.

Second Half 

Both squads came out relatively cold to start the second half, combining to go 0-4 from the field in the first 1:22 of the period.

The Huskies hit a 3-pointer to break the short scoring drought and cut Nevada’s lead down to eight with 18:31 left in the game.

Blackshear yet again had an answer, finishing another unassisted driving layup to extend the Pack’s lead back to double digits.

Washington cut the Pack’s lead down to eight once again at the 16:34 mark; but, the Pack responded with a 7-0 run over the next 1:51. Davidson sparked the run by converting an and-one opportunity after finishing a tough bucket at the rim through contact. Nevada forced the Huskies into a difficult 3-point shot on the other end, and, after the miss, Blackshear found Coleman open in the lane for an easy bucket. After another missed 3-pointer by the Huskies, Jazz Gardner got an offensive rebound and finished a put-back layup, as Nevada led 52-37 with 14:43 to go.

The Pack maintained a double-digit lead for the next 3:21, however, Washington cut the deficit back down to eight with 11:22 left in the contest.

Just over two minutes later, Washington trimmed Nevada’s lead to seven; but, that marked the closest they would get, as Blackshear completely took over the game down the stretch, scoring nine points over the final 6:35 to help secure the impressive road victory for the Pack.

Notable Stats: 

  • After the sensational performance, Kenan Blackshear is averaging 22.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 52.9 percent from the field through the Pack’s first two contests.

  • Nevada has now won five consecutive games over Washington.

  • The Pack’s victory marks Nevada’s first victory over a Power-Five opponent since November 2021.

  • After scoring 13 points, Jarod Lucas has now reached double figures in scoring in 30 of 35 games with Nevada.

  • Tre Coleman’s nine rebounds marked a new career-high for the senior.

  • Kenan Blackshear’s 12 made field goals marked a new career-high for the fifth-year senior.

  • Nevada limited Washington to just 29.2 percent shooting from behind the arc (7-24)

  • The Pack had just six turnovers throughout the game while forcing the Huskies into 11 turnovers.

  • Nevada scored 16 second chance points in the game.

  • The Pack never trailed throughout the contest.

  • Kenan Blackshear has recorded at least three assists in 31 of his past 35 games.

Up Next 

The Pack will return home to host Pacific this Wednesday, Nov. 15 at Lawlor Events Center with tip-off set for 7 p.m.