By: Doug Hoffman, USU Athletic Media Relations
LOGAN, Utah – Demond Cambridge Jr. and Grant Sherfield combined for 51 points in leading Nevada to an 85-72 win against Utah State here Friday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
Utah State (15-11, 6-7 MW) held a 37-32 halftime lead, but Nevada (10-13, 4-8 MW) outscored USU 53-35 in the final 20 minutes to snap its six-game losing streak.
Utah State has now dropped back-to-back Mountain West games after winning each of its previous five, which included a 78-49 win in Reno on Jan. 29.
Senior forward
Brandon Horvath scored a career-high 29 points for Utah State as he was 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 11-of-14 at the free throw line to go along with eight rebounds. Fellow senior forward
Justin Bean added 16 points and nine rebounds, while junior guard
Rylan Jones scored 11 points off the bench for the home team.
Cambridge led Nevada with 27 points, shooting 10-of-16 shooting, including 6-of-9 from 3-point range. Sherfield was close behind with 24 points as he was 12-of-14 at the free throw line and 5-of-14 from the field.
Nevada began the second-half by scoring the first four points and regained the lead at 40-39 on a Sherfield basket with 17:46 remaining. Utah State pushed its lead back to four points at 47-43 following a Horvath dunk at the 15:06 mark. Over the next four minutes there were three ties and two lead changes, before Nevada went on a 16-9 run to take a 69-60 lead with 6:41 to play. USU never got closer than six points the remainder of the game as Nevada closed with a 5-0 run to make the final score 85-72.
Nevada finished the game shooting 47.5 percent (29-of-61), including a blistering 60.0 percent (18-of-30) in the second half. The Wolf Pack also made 50.0 percent (10-of-20) of their 3-pointers, including shooting 63.6 percent (7-of-11) from deep in the second half. Nevada was also 17-of-26 at the free throw line for the game.
Utah State shot just 41.4 percent (24-of-58), including just 26.1 percent (6-of-23) from 3-point range, and was 78.3 percent (18-of-23) at the free throw line.
Utah State finished the game with 14 turnovers as compared to just eight for Nevada and both teams had 37 rebounds.
Nevada scored the first seven points of the game as Utah State committed four turnovers in the first four minutes. USU took its first lead at 22-21 on a 3-pointer from senior guard
RJ Eytle-Rock and finished the half on a 7-2 run over the final 1:45 to take a five-point advantage into the locker room.
Utah State shot 42.3 percent (11-of-26) in the first half, including just 27.3 percent (3-of-11) from 3-point range, and committed 11 turnovers, but held Nevada to just 35.5 percent (11-of-31) shooting, including 33.3 percent (3-of-9) from 3-point range.
The Aggies are back in action on Tuesday, Feb. 15, at 8 p.m. (MT), when they play at San Diego State. The game will be televised live on CBS Sports Network.
For more information on Utah State's men's basketball program, follow the Aggies on Facebook at usumensbasketball, on Twitter at @usubasketball and on Instagram at @usubasketball. Fans can also watch USU men's basketball highlights by visiting youtube.com/utahstateathletics.
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