Men’s basketball: Nevada survives second half rally

By: Lukas Eggen

Sunday, November 22, 2009 - 12:21 AM

Nevada guard Ray Kraemer scored 19 points during Nevada's 112-99 victory over Houston. Photo by Casey Durkin/Nevada Sagebrush

For the second time this week, Nevada held a double digit lead in the second half. And, for the second time this week, the Wolf Pack saw its lead diminish.

Unlike its loss to UNLV, however, the Wolf Pack held on to defeat Houston 112-99 Saturday.

“We grew up tonight,” head coach David Carter said.

Nevada led 16-11 in the first half before going on a 20-8 run to increase its lead to 36-19. Nevada led 61-44 at halftime. Guard Brandon Fields was the Wolf Pack’s top performer of the first half, scoring 22 points and recorded six rebounds and three assists.

“I just was following through with all my shots and taking what they gave me,” Fields said.

Carter said Fields’ success this season was not unexpected.

“He started this year very fresh,” Carter said. “He has a lot of confidence and we expect him to continue to play as well as he had.

The Wolf Pack opened the second half much in the same way, stretching its lead to more than 20 points.

But Fields left the game with cramps and Houston rallied to within 100-94.

“Give Houston a lot of credit,” Kraemer said. “They came in here and gave us a run for our money at the end.”

But Nevada responded, going on an 8-0 run to extend its lead to 108-94 to clinch the victory.

“We were able to get our composure and settle down a little bit,” Carter said.

The Wolf Pack had five players score in double digits for the game, including forward Joey Shaw and Kraemer, who scored 26 and 19 points, respectively. Sophomore forward Luke Babbitt struggled, shooting 6 for 13 from the field and scoring only 14 points.

“We are more than just two guys on this team,” Carter said. “We have 11 young men on this team.”

Nevada will play its next three games on the road. The Wolf Pack plays Virginia Commonwealth University on Nov. 27, North Carolina on Nov. 29 and Pacific University on Dec. 5.

Lukas Eggen can be reached at leggen@nevadasagebrush.com.