Nevada holds off San Diego State for consecutive wins vs. Top 25 teams

RENO, Nev. — Kenan Blackshear scored eight of his 22 points in overtime and Nevada beat No. 24 San Diego State 70-66 on Friday night.

Tre Coleman made two key steals and the tiebreaking basket in the extra period as the Wolf Pack defeated AP Top 25 teams in back-to-back games for the first time. Nevada (19-5, 6-4 Mountain West) won 77-63 at No. 22 Utah State on Tuesday.

Coleman’s short jumper with 12 seconds left gave Nevada a 68-66 lead. Blackshear added two free throws in the final second after SDSU’s Darrion Trammell missed a 3-point attempt.

Jarod Lucas had 15 points and Nick Davidson scored 14 for the Wolf Pack, who led the entire game until the 3:47 mark of the second half, when the Jay Pal converted a three-point play for the Aztecs.

San Diego State (18-6, 7-4) maintained a narrow lead down the stretch in regulation, but Davidson picked up a loose-ball offensive rebound and laid it in to tie it at 60 with 5.3 seconds to play. He missed the ensuing free throw, and the Aztecs couldn’t get off a shot in the final seconds.

Nevada was hindered by poor free-throw shooting, a bugaboo in recent games. After starting 7 for 8 from the foul line, Nevada made just four of its next 10 attempts and 10 of its next 20.

Jaedon LeDee, a top contender for Mountain West Conference player of the year, was in foul trouble throughout for San Diego State. But he shot 12 for 14 from the free-throw line and finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and seven turnovers.

Trammell added 11 points and Micah Parrish had 10 rebounds and nine points for the Aztecs.

Nevada was outrebounded 44-25 (20-6 on offensive boards) in the first meeting between the teams in San Diego on Jan. 17, a 71-59 Aztecs win. This time, the Wolf Pack had a 34-32 edge on the boards (11-6 on the offensive glass).

UP NEXT

San Diego State: Will host Colorado State on Tuesday.

Nevada: Will host New Mexico on Tuesday in Nevada’s third straight game against a ranked opponent.