Utah Utes vs Nevada Wolf Pack Match Player Stats On Nov 05, 2019

Timmy Allen scored 23 points and added 11 rebounds, and Both Gach finished with 22 points as Utah earned a 79-74 victory over Nevada on Tuesday at Reno, Nev., in the season opener for both teams.

Utah rode a dominating effort on the boards (45-30) to spoil the start of the Steve Alford era at Nevada. The former UCLA coach, beginning his 29th season as a head coach, lost his first game with the Wolf Pack.

The Utes, who have 11 freshmen on the roster, managed to extend the program's lead in the all-time series to 11-1 and end Nevada's streak of 18 straight wins at the Lawler Events Center.

Nevada guard Lindsey Drew led all scorers with a career-high 30 points to go with eight assists and seven rebounds. The senior shot 12-for-19 from the field, including 5-for-9 on 3-point attempts.

Utah guard Alfonso Plummer was whistled twice for flopping in the game -- a new rule instituted this season.

Drew was hot from the outset, making nine of 11 shots to keep the Wolf Pack from falling into a big deficit due to foul trouble and being dominated on the glass.

Utah built a 55-47 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining despite making just three of its first 16 3-point tries and shooting 60 percent (12-for-20) from the free throw line.

After not leading since early in the first half, Nevada got consecutive hoops from Jazz Johnson amid a 9-0 run to take a 58-56 lead. But Utah answered with its own run, capped by a deep 3-pointer from Gach to give the Utes a 69-63 lead with just under four minutes left.

In the first half, Utah rode a strong start, sparked by Allen and Gach, to take a 37-32 lead into the break.

Drew kept the Wolf Pack in the game by connecting on seven of his first nine shots to establish a career high with 18 points in the first 20 minutes.

--Field Level Media