RENO, Nev. - Drake junior Jacob Enevold (Lunderskov, Denmark) played big in the 'The Biggest Little City In the World' with 13 points and 11 rebounds in a 79-71 loss at Nevada, Saturday afternoon.
Enevold's fifth career double-double came primarily via free throws on 9-of-11 shooting from the line.
"Jacob has brought it the last two games with his energy," said Drake head coach Ray Giacoletti. "He gave us an inside presence tonight and we need more of that."
That inside presence was needed against a Nevada (7-3) team that leads the Mountain West Conference in rebounding and the nation in blocked shots.
Despite Enevold's 11 rebounds, the Wolf Pack held a 38-34 advantage on the glass to make the Drake (4-6) the 10th-straight opponent it has outrebounded.
Nevada was led by five players in double-figures with Marqueze Coleman's 19 points on 18 shots leading the way while Tyron Chriswell added 10 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.
"You can't be successful giving up 79 points and 15 offensive rebounds," Giacoletti said. "We don't have enough to overcome and survive those situations. Collectively we have to be able to defend."
Offensively, Drake scored 71 points against a defense that ranked eighth in the nation in field goal percentage defense. Reed Timmer (New Berlin, Wis.) led the Bulldogs with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting while Kale Abrahamson (West Des Moines, Iowa) was 4-of-6 from three-point range for 16 points. Point guard Graham Woodward (Edina, Minn.) struggled with his shot, but got points for others with a career-high nine assists.
Nevada led nearly the entire contest and opened the game with an eight point lead before back-to-back three-pointers from Abrahamson tied the game at 17-17 with 7:30 left in the first half. The Wolf Pack ran that lead back out to 10, 32-22, later in the half before Drake closed the half with five straight points to trim the deficit to 32-27 at halftime.
However, Drake was unable to keep that pace in the second half as a 12-4 Nevada run opened up the Wolf Pack's biggest lead of the night at 17 points, 63-46, with 10 minutes left. Drake would get no closer than 10 for the remainder of the game until Timmer's three-pointer with four seconds left accounted for the final margin.
The Bulldogs will have a week off from competition for final exams on campus before taking on Iowa, Saturday, Dec. 19 as part of the Hy-Vee Big Four Classic. Tipoff is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN3.
