It was another typical match-up between the Wolf Pack and the Tigers with plenty of tough defense and slow-tempo basketball, and just like the past three years Pacific came out on top.  In a game that featured the same two programs playing for the 9th consecutive year, the youthful Wolf Pack program did its best to hang with a senior-laden Pacific team at UCLA’s famed Pauley Pavilion in the first round of the NIT Season Tip-Off. But in the end the Tigers pulled out a 64-53 victory.

The story of this game was the Tiger defense.  Although Pacific struggled for points in the second half themselves, Nevada was only able to score 20 points after intermission as the Tigers once again did what they do best; clamp down on defense and hit their free throws.  After playing “un-Pacific-like” defense in the first twenty minutes, the Tigers came back strong in the final twenty and gave up just a handful of baskets in the second half. They also hit all but one free throw for the entire game, clicking on over 95 percent of their attempts.

For a number of Nevada players this NIT appearance in Westwood wasn’t just one of their first college games, it was one of their first appearances in Los Angeles, which is home for many of them.  Those players include Jerry Evans, Malik Story, Deontè Burton, Jordan Burris, Devonte Elliott and Kevin Panzer. Even half the Nevada coaching staff, including head coach David Carter and assistant Keith Brown, are from Southern California.

Although the players had throngs of family and friends, it was Pacific who took control early, firing a handful of successful three-point attempts. Pacific combo-forward Sam Willard and sophomore guard Allen Huddleston hit a pair of key three’s as the Tigers shot out to a 15-7 lead just 8 minutes into the game.

But just as the Tigers went cold, Nevada got hot. The young Wolf Pack club, which features numerous freshmen and sophomores, appeared to shed their nerves after a timeout by Coach Carter.  Junior guard Derrell Conner hit one of two free throws followed by the first three-pointer of Evans career.  After Huddleston beat the clock for a two-pointer, Finn drove the lane for an “And-1″ to cut the Pacific lead to 17-14.  Burton followed up that score with an easy floater in the lane to make it 17-16.

After exchanging baskets, which included a follow-up flush by Dario Hunt, Nevada took their first lead of the game, 20-19, when Burton connected with his classmate Elliott, who also dunked it home at the 6:43 mark.  Those back-to-back jam’s caused Pacific head coach Bob Thomason to call a thirty second timeout.  Thomason pleaded the Tigers for better defense.

But Nevada kept finding the hoop.  They continued to keep the defensive pressure up on the Tigers while attacking the rim on the offensive end.  With just under three minutes left, Nevada held a 28-25 lead.  It was Elliott, showing some range, who connected from 15-feet to give the Pack their 27th and 28th points.

Nevada continued to hold the lead into the half as Burton stole the ball and went coast to coast, knifing around a Pacific defender for a lay-up.  Pacific scored the final basket of the half, cutting the Pack lead to 32-31 at intermission.

Burton had 9 points at the half while Hunt had 8 points and 4 rebounds to lead Nevada.  Both players led the way for the Pack in the first game of the season too, which was an 81-66 victory over Montana.  Pacific’s top player, Willard, who is another Tiger senior, had 9 points and 8 boards at the half.

Burton and the Pack

Despite the 1-point Pacific deficit, being down at the half was not a concern for Coach Thomason’s club.  As the second half began, it was Pacific who once again took command.  Thanks to some big plays by Willard, Pacific scored the first 9 points to take a 40-32 lead. It was essentially a clean right-hook by a veteran team to a new group of Wolves.  The Tigers, who trailed UTEP in their first game of the season at the half and on the road by 11 points, showed their metal and experience in what turned out to be a comeback win over Randy Culpepper and the Miners.

Senior reserve Nyika Williams also made a handful of plays during the early Pacific run, including two key blocks, with what turned out to be a 13-4 run to push the Tigers lead to 44-36.

It had to be tough for a group of young Pack players to respond to that type of run, and it showed for the next few minutes. Hunt scored the first four points for Nevada to keep the Pack in arm’s length, and at the 13:30 mark, a nice drive and dish by Jordan Burris to senior Illiwa Baldwin cut the Tigers lead to six.

Pacific jumped the lead to as much as 10, but Nevada, showing some grit, cut the lead to 7 when Burris banked home a long three pointer.  It was a shot the freshmen certainly wouldn’t call during a game of “Horse”, but it appeared to lift the Nevada team. Even though both teams went cold for the next 4 minutes, with numerous missed shots, Story broke through for the Pack when the former Indiana transfer, who last played at Pauley Pavilion during a state playoff game in high school, drilled a three to cut Pacific’s lead to four points, 48-44.

But that was really the final threat from Nevada.  Pacific finally put its veteran foot down at that point, as the Tigers broke a nearly 5 minute scoring drought when Willard, plus senior Pat Eveland, knocked home four free-throws after getting some loose balls on the offensive end.  Eveland got to the line once again after Willard found him on the break, and the San Diego native promptly dropped home two more free-throws to make it 54-44.

Getting out-muscled for a those loose balls and watch Pacific continue to hit their free-throws seemed to drain Nevada.  With just over three-minutes remaining, Burton drove and got to the line—-the first time Nevada shot free-throws in the second half—-and made one of two to cut the lead to single digits again.  But on the next possession, junior Jose Rivera hit a wide-open three pointer to put Pacific up a cool dozen points at 57-45.

At the 2:26 mark, Finn made another acrobatic play and his second “And-1″ of the contest by driving and scooping the ball up and in, getting fouled to the floor in the process.  But even after the nice play by the freshman, Nevada was still down 9.  Pacific continued to hit from the charity stripe, and even when Willard fouled out with three minutes remaining, he had already posted a devastating double-double with 15 points and 15 rebounds.  Dating back to last year, it was the senior from South Dakota’s 7th straight double-double.

After putting on an outstanding performance during the first game of his career, Burton, an extremely talented Nevada newcomer shot just 3 of 14 from the floor and missed all six of his three-point attempts.  He still scored in double-digits though and only committed one turnover.  It was just one of those games where the ball wouldn’t go down, not only for Burton, but for much of the Pack roster. Nevada connected on just 34 percent of its field goals, and only 23 percent from three.

There won’t be a lot of rest for Nevada, as tomorrow night they’ll take on Pepperdine or UCLA in the consolation game of the NIT’s West Region.