RENO, Nev. — The San Francisco State men's basketball team dropped an 80-65 exhibition to Nevada on Friday night in front of a sold-out crowd on Throwback Night at Virginia Street Gym, Nevada's home venue from 1945 until the late 1980s.
The score wasn't indicative of the Gators' effort. San Francisco State led 39-38 at the half and was led by Ryne Williams, who led all players with 22 points and 12 rebounds for a double-double.
- San Francisco State shot 50 percent (14-of-28) in the first half, including 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from deep.
- No Gator played over 30 minutes while three Nevada starters played at least 30.
- Nevada is ranked seventh in the preseason AP poll and ninth in the USA Today Coaches preseason poll. The Wolf Pack are expected to win a third consecutive Mountain West title.
- Caleb Martin, named to AP All-America team and the Erving Award watch list, led the Wolf Pack with 19 points.
- Twin brother Cody Martin, named to Cousy Award watch list, added 15 points for Nevada.
Williams' three-pointer less than a minute in gave San Francisco State the lead. Nevada went ahead by four but
Jiday Ugbaja's three-pointer and a Williams layup a minute later put the Gators back in front. Caleb Martin tied the game at 24-24 with a dunk but back-to-back threes from Ugbaja three and Williams put the Gators up six. At the defensive end, the Gators held the home team to just 2-of-14 (14.3 percent) from behind the arc.
The game was tied 47-47 with 14:39 to go but a 10-0 run gave Nevada the momentum and a 57-47 lead before Jase Wickliffe's layup ended the bleeding. The Gators pulled to within six on a pair of Williams free throws. The Gators trailed by 10 with under seven minutes to go but the Wolf Pack pulled away over the final minutes. San Francisco State turned the ball over 15 times in the second half and committed 17 fouls in the second half and cooled off from deep, shooting just 2-of-13 (15.4 percent) as the Wolf Pack tightened up the defense. Nevada also took care of the ball much better in the final 20 minutes, limiting turnovers to six and 13 total.
Head Coach Vince Inglima: "I'm very proud of our effort tonight against one of the nation's best teams in Division I. This early in the season there's a lot to improve on but this performance really shows the potential of this team and how good we can be if we bring that defensive effort on a regular basis."
San Francisco State opens the 2018-19 season with the San Francisco State Tipoff Classic featuring the Gators, Dominican, Sonoma State, and Academy of Art. San Francisco State opens with ART U on Friday, November 9, followed by Dominican the next night.
