Caleb Martin Lifts No. 6 Nevada Past Utah 86-71

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – After a strong first half for Utah, No. 6 Nevada put their stamp on the game with 48 second half points. The Wolfpack beat the Utes 86-71.

Sedrick Barefield scored a season-high 33 points on 10-of-15 shooting from the field and 6-of-10 from downtown. Donnie Tillman added 13 points and 10 rebounds and Timmy Allen chipped in 11 points.

Caleb Martin dropped 33 points and 7 assists, Jordan Caroline had a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

Barefield Sparks Utah

The first 10 minutes of the game was sloppy for both teams as they tried to score. Barefield scored eight quick points off the bench to give Utah a 16-13 lead.

Barefield added a three-pointer to stop a potential run from Nevada when Caleb Martin hit a triple. The Wolfpack had a 23-21 lead after the media timeout.

The Utah senior would stay hot with another seven points and he went to the bench with 18 points. Timmy Allen scored a couple of baskets to keep the Utes neck-and-neck with Nevada. Utah had a 34-33 lead with 2:54 left in the first half.

Each team would exchange free throws and the Wolfpack took a 38-37 halftime lead.

Barfield finished the first half with 19 points on 5-of-5 shooting from the field and 3-for-3 from downtown. Both Caleb and Cody Martin had 8 points apiece to lead Nevada.

Nevada Turns It On In Second Half

Caleb Martin came out of the halftime break red hot as he scored the Wolfpack’s first nine points, Utah was only able to counter with a three by Sedrick Barefield. Nevada had a 47-40 lead with 17:33 remaining in the game.

Nevada went on a 13-3 run before Barefield hit his fifth three-pointer of the game.

Cody Martin picked up his fourth foul after receiving a technical foul with 13:57 left. Barefield hit one of the two free-throws and Nevada held a 54-44 lead.

Jordan Caroline hit a three-pointer to stretch their lead to 65-51 with 10 minutes left. Nevada extended their lead to the biggest of the game with 6:36 left when they were up 73-56.

Utah crawled back to 10 points but it wasn’t enough as the Wolfpack finished their non-conference slate with a perfect 12-0 record.

Utes fall to No. 6 Nevada 71 to 86. #GoUtes🏀🔴 pic.twitter.com/OODi7oV4oZ

— Utah Basketball (@UtahMBB) December 29, 2018

Up Next

Utah finished their non-conference schedule with a 6-6 record and will travel to Tempe, Arizona to face the Arizona State Sun Devils on Thursday. Both teams won a game last season with the Sun Devils beating the Utes in Salt Lake City by three points.

The Utes knocked off Arizona State in Tempe last season with an 80-77 win in overtime. The game on Thursday will tip-off at 6 p.m. and will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network.