The Nevada Wolf Pack see their six-game winning streak snapped as they lose to San Diego State 79-74
The Nevada Wolf Pack close out the regular season with a tough loss to San Diego State on Saturday night.
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Nevada Closes Out Regular Season With Loss To San Diego State 79-74
The Nevada Wolf Pack under Eric Mussleman have won in every Mountain West arena except Viejas Arena home of the San Diego State Aztecs.
The Wolf Pack, already locking up the regular season Mountain West title and the number one seed in next week’s conference tournament looked to add Viejas to the list of arenas the Wolf Pack have secured a victory.
The Aztecs had other plans.
On Senior Night, led by Trey Kell (17 points, nine assists) and Malik Pope (16 points, five rebounds) the Aztecs defeated the Wolf Pack (26-6, 15-3) 79-74 in the regular season finale for both teams.
With the win, the Aztecs (19-10, 11-7) close out the regular season with six straight wins and clinched the fifth seed in the Mountain West tournament which starts in Las Vegas on Wednesday. With the loss, the Wolf Pack see their six-game winning streak end and now the Wolf Pack are 0-2 in Viejas Arena under Eric Musselman.
The game was a competitive back and fourth contest with both teams exchanging long scoring runs in the first half. After the Wolf Pack went up 32-22, the Aztecs went on a 12-0 scoring run to end the first half and took a 36-34 lead.
In the second half, despite strong performances from Jordan Caroline (29 points, six rebounds), Caleb Martin (22 points, nine rebounds) and Cody Martin (13 points, six rebounds, six assists), the Aztecs never relinquished the lead as they were up by as many as nine midway thru the second half.
The Wolf Pack did cut the Aztec lead to two at 74-72 but with under a minute left in the game, Trey Kell hit a jumper to extend the Aztec lead for good at 76-72. For the Aztecs, it was the performances of their seniors, Kell, Pope and seldom used center Kameron Rooks (12 points, six rebounds) that powered the Aztecs to the victory tonight.
Next up for the Aztecs, they will face off against the fourth seeded Fresno State Bulldogs in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament on Thursday. While the top seeded Wolf Pack will face off against the winner of the UNLV/Air Force match-up on Thursday.