By GREG MENGELT

RENO, Nev. — Tre Coleman and the Nevada Wolfpack won their third straight game — 79-66 over visiting Pepperdine — to improve to .500 for just the second time this season.

Coleman, a Jeffersonville graduate and Nevada sophomore, contributed 5 points, 4 rebounds and a steal to the Wolfpack victory. He went 2 for 8 from the floor, including 1 for 4 from behind the 3-point line.

Coleman’s layup with 8:56 to go in the first quarter tied the game at 17-aside. After Pepperdine’s Houston Mallette scored 5 straight points to put the Waves up 22-17, Coleman knocked down a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 2.

That started an 18-10 run that gave the Pack a 79-66 at the break. Nevada (4-4) started the second half with a 28-14 spurt that essentially put the Waves away. The closest Pepperdine (2-7) got the rest of the way was 9 points.

Nevada’s starting guards — junior Grant Sherfield (24) and senior Desmond Cambridge Jr. (21) — combined for 45 of the Wolfpack’s 79 points. Sherfield had 10 rebounds to go with his game-high 24 points. Junior Warren Washington added 13 points and 8 boards for Nevada, which goes to North Texas (3-3) on Saturday afternoon. The Mean Green are coming off an upset of Drake in Orlando.

Pepperdine’s leading scorer was freshman Mike Mitchell, who finished with 12 points. The Waves have lost five in a row.