Tuck’s Take: Wyoming’s Defense Didn’t Make Flight to Reno
RENO, Nev., -- Might want to guard that guy.
And that one. And that one. And that one.
Corey Camper Jr., despite missing the better part of a month with a back injury, netted a career-high 31 points Saturday night, lifting Nevada to a 92-83 victory over visiting Wyoming inside Lawlor Arena.
The senior connected on 10-of-13 attempts from the field, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc as the Wolf Pack moved to 12-4 overall and 4-1 in Mountain West play. The Little Rock, Ark., native, who began his collegiate career at UTEP, scored 19 points in the first half. He also added seven rebounds and an assist.
Elijah Price pitched in with 20 points, 14 of which came in the final frame. Tayshawn Comer, Amire Robinson and Peyton White all finished with 10.
Nevada shot 61% for the night, including nearly 71% over the final 20 minutes. On 31 made baskets, the home team dished out 21 assists.
Defense, yeah, that didn't make the flight to Reno.
"I've been preaching since we got back from Christmas, in this league you have to defend," Wyoming head coach Sundance Wicks said on the team's postgame show. "If you can't defend in this league against other men, and you can't win your one on ones, it's going to be hard.
"You gotta make guys miss."
The Cowboys, led by Naz Meyer, who capped his night with 27, fell to 2-3 in the league standings and sit 11-5 overall. The true freshman from Los Angeles did his part, hitting a trio of triples and added 10 more points at the free-throw line.
Wicks said he issued a challenge to the rookie at halftime -- defend or take a seat.
"I got on him," he said, adding Meyer aided in allowing Camper to hit three early shots from deep. "He was horrendous defensively in the first six minutes and I don't play guys when they play bad. That's how it is ... I'll tell you, the way he responds, as a freshman, is impressive."
Meyer had just four points in his first 13 minutes on the floor.
Leland Walker chipped in with 14 points and three helpers, and Uriyah Rojas added 11 off the bench. Big man Gavin Gores also finished in double-figures with 10. Wicks said the latter, who was celebrating his birthday today, played "outstanding" after going a perfect 3-for-3 from the field.
Wyoming led for just 1:57 in this one, but stayed within striking distance all night long until Nevada went on a 7-0 run, beginning at the 5:07 mark.
Camper started that flurry with his fifth made three-pointer of the night, and Gores was stripped by Vaughn Weems on the perimeter and went coast-to-coast for the easy lay-in to extend the Wolf Packs' lead to a dozen.
Fouls -- 23 of them -- came back to haunt the Cowboys again in this one. Nevada attempted 18 freebies in the second half, sinking 15. Only IU Indy (22.8) draws more whistles a game than Wicks' squad (22.7).
Assistant coach Chris McMillian, over the last three days, prepared the scouting report against Nevada. He warned his team about the flare screens Steve Alford would run, freeing up his outside shooters. He made them aware of the pin downs in the low post, urging guys to shoot gaps.
Wicks said they absolutely "destroyed our scout."
"They" are his own players.
We said, 'Don't do your own thing. Don't go rogue,'" he added. "It was frustrating to watch, as a coach, because a lot of these (coaches) put a lot of time into what they do. I feel like it's disrespectful when you don't execute the scout. And it has nothing to do with, they didn't know it. They know it.
"... I'm disappointed in that mental execution of a scout."
The road only gets tougher from here. San Diego State (10-4, 4-0) pays a visit to Laramie Wednesday night. Tipoff inside the Arena-Auditorium is set for 6 p.m.