CBI Championship 2016: Game 2 Score and Reaction for Morehead State vs. Nevada

The Nevada Wolf Pack made sure their season did not end on Wednesday night, knocking off the Morehead State Eagles in Game 2 of the CBI tournament best-of-three championship series, 77-68.  

Playing on his home court with his team trying to even the series, D. J. Fenner poured in a career-high 26 points for Nevada to force a rubber match on Friday after Morehead won Game 1 on Monday, per Nevada Basketball:

Marqueze Coleman and Fenner hit back-to-back three-pointers around the three- and two-minute marks to break open a three-point game and give the Wolf Pack a 69-62 lead that proved to be enough for the victory despite 21 turnovers.

The crowd at Lawlor Events Center liked what it was seeing after Fenner nailed his shot, per Nevada Basketball:

The first two games have been battles, with each team never allowing the other to make a big run.

When Nevada went up 19-12 on a free throw from Coleman at the 7:44 mark of the first half, it was the biggest lead for either team during the series.

In true fashion, the Eagles scored the next four points to close the game to three at 19-16.

Tournament	Points Per Game
CBI	7.5
NCAA	12.5
NIT	12.5

However, Nevada quickly bucked the trend, going on a 10-4 run capped off with an Eric Cooper Jr. three-pointer to push the lead to 29-20 and force Morehead to call timeout with 3:47 remaining until halftime.

Eagles head coach Sean Woods ran into some trouble when three of his starters were saddled with two fouls apiece in the final minutes of the half. That included senior forward Lyonell Gaines, who had just two points at the break after a 27-point, 14-rebound performance in Game 1 of the series.

He would finish with just six points and five rebounds.

However, the Wolf Pack were able to weather the storm and cut the lead to six at 33-27 at the break. Fenner led all scorers with 10 points and was the biggest reason Nevada was able to hold on to the lead.

Freshman forward Cameron Oliver upped his game in the second half, scoring from the post and even knocking down his only three-point attempt. He finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, his 11th double-double of the season.

Chris Murray of the Reno Gazette-Journal reminded Wolf Pack fans of the good news when the senior connects from downtown:

However, a fourth foul following an offensive rebound from Gaines forced Oliver to the bench with 11:20 to play. Murray thought head coach Eric Musselman took a chance by having him in the game at the time:

But Morehead State failed to capitalize, never getting closer than three points the rest of the way. Part of the problem stemmed from poor three-point shooting as the Eagles missed their first 12 attempts and finished 1-of-16 for the game. Nevada was 6-of-10 from behind the arc.

Fenner picked up the slack with Oliver out, scoring six points with his teammate on the bench until the 6:59 mark.

Brent Arrington led the Eagles with 16 points and eight steals, while DeJuan Marrero chipped in 13 points.

The fact the final game will be a second straight road contest for Morehead State could be tough considering the Nevada fans are out in full force, per Nathan Shoup of the Sparks Tribune:

These teams are evenly matched and should play another tight contest, but look for the home court to be the difference in the final game and help the Wolf Pack earn their first CBI tournament title on Friday.

Postgame Reaction

Both contests have been tight throughout, and as ESPNU announcer Mitch Holthus said following the game, the atmosphere Wednesday night felt like a conference tournament matchup with an NCAA bid on the line. It apparently spilled over in the post-game handshake, according to Ben Ross of Reno's  KOLO-TV:

Ross tweeted his thoughts for Game 3: "So Friday night should be interesting! These two teams do not like each other."

However, Fenner was in a good mood following the win, via Wolf Pack Gameday:

Musselman has faith that the Wolf Pack fans will come out strong for Game 3, per Wolf Pack Gameday: "I'd be shocked if we didn't sell out (on Friday)."