Nevada beats Louisiana Tech on Saturday, 87-57
Saturday, Mar. 1, 2008 @ 10:21 pm
Curry Lynch made his first career start, coach Mark Fox’s temper finally the better of him and JaVale McGee exploded for a career-high 26 points on 12 of 14 shooting as the Nevada men’s basketball team beat Louisiana Tech 87-57 at Lawlor Events Center on Senior Night.
The Wolf Pack’s four seniors were honored with a ceremony before the game, then took the floor together one last time at Lawlor.
Guard Marcelus Kemp, one of the most explosive scorers in Nevada history, led the group with nine points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Demarshay Johnson scored five points and grabbed four rebounds and David Ellis scored four points.
After spending most of four years watching games from the bench, the fan favorite Lynch made his first career start and scored two points, grabbed three rebounds and also had an assist.
“Playing all these games at Lawlor, I’m just glad I’m going out a winner,” Kemp said.
The game turned toward the end of the first half when Fox received his first technical foul of the season.
Fox was called for the technical when he exploded at the officials after Kemp was called for traveling with 5:25 left in the first half. Bulldogs guard Kyle Gibson made one of two free throws to make the score 29-21, but Fox’s emotion fired up his team.
The Wolf Pack responded with a 13-2 run that put the game away at 42-23 with 2:22 left in the half.
Brandon Fields started the run with two free throws with 4:52 left in the half. Johnson then added a 3-point play and Kemp put in a layup and another 3-point play before Fields finished the run with a 3-pointer.
“To be honest with you, I thought our team was flat,” said Fox, who with the victory became the fastest coach in Wolf Pack history to win 100 games. “I thought the crowd was flat. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do. But I hadn’t had one all year so might as well get one and get the people going.”
While Saturday night was about honoring the Wolf Pack’s seniors, the youngsters showed there will be plenty to celebrate in the coming years.
Sophomores McGee and Fields and freshman Armon Johnson all scored in double figures to lead the Wolf Pack in scoring.
McGee showed off his developing offensive game by scoring on putbacks, hook shots, fade away jumpers and a 3-pointer.
Oh, and then there were the dunks.
The highlight came with 12:14 left in the first half when McGee blocked a 3-pointer by Drew Washington, picked up the ball near halfcourt and finished the break with a soaring tomahawk dunk to make the score 14-8.
Fields scored 14 points in 19 minutes and Armon Johnson scored 10 on 4 of 5 shooting and grabbed five rebounds.
With a fifth straight WAC Championship still in the balance, the Wolf Pack finishes the regular season next Saturday at Fresno State.
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© 2008 The Nevada Sagebrush
March 2nd, 2008 at 12:49 am
This was such an amazing game… Im so glad I called in sick to work to go to it. Im gonna miss these four but more greats will come. Thanks for all the hard work and love for the pack!