The Nevada Sagebrush

Guard Brandon Fields goes up strong to the hoop. Fields finished the game with a team-high 20 points, despite playing only 22 minutes. Photo by Casey Durkin/Nevada Sagebrush

The Nevada men’s basketball team continued its dominance at home this season after defeating South Dakota State 92-72 on Saturday night to improve to 4-0 at home this year. The victory brought the Wolf Pack back to .500 for the first time since Nov. 27.

“Winning, period, is always good,” Nevada guard Brandon Fields said. “It’s just a good feeling to be back at .500.”

Nevada opened the game with a 14-4 run and never trailed.

“I thought we came out in the first half and established a good tempo,” Wolf Pack head coach David Carter said. “We set the tone early.”

The Jackrabbits could not recover and Nevada took a 49-31 lead into halftime. After extending the lead to more than 20 in the second half, Carter took all of the starters out and played every active player he had available to him.

“The more time they get, the better they’re going to be,” Carter said, referring to his bench players. “We’re going to need them down the stretch.”

Nevada guard Kevin Fuetsch played in his third game of the season and scored his first four points of the year, something the crowd and his teammates were very happy about.

“We’re always excited when anybody scores,” guard Armon Johnson said. “We see what these guys can do in practice, so it’s not a surprise for us, but it’s really exciting.”

Johnson scored 17 points and had five assists in 26 minutes.

Fields had a strong game and led all scorers with 20 points, despite only playing 22 minutes.

“I just took what they gave me,” Fields said. “I was open and my teammates found me.”

Despite a 20-point victory, Carter was not pleased with every aspect of the team’s performance, most notably the team’s job on the glass.

“We out rebounded them by seven,” Carter said. “But I felt we should have out rebounded them by 19 or 20.”

Nevada’s next game is Thursday when the team hosts Eastern Washington for the first game of the Las Vegas Classic. Nevada finishes its four-game home stand against Wagner on Dec. 19.

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

QUICK STATS

Nevada:

PG Armon Johnson: 17 points, five assists

F Luke Babbitt: 16 points, 10 rebounds

G Brandon Fields: 20 points, three steals

F Joey Shaw: 13 points, seven rebounds

South Dakota State:

G Garrett Callahan: Nine points, one steal

G Nate Wolters: 15 points, six assists

F Anthony Cordova: 10 points, two blocks

Related Posts:

• Pack earns bid to NIT, will play Wichita State from Missouri Valley Conf.
• Aggies hand Pack ‘terrible’ loss, end Nevada’s run in tourney
• Five starters score double figures, Pack cruises past Idaho into second round
• Pack sends seniors out with win, clinches 2 seed for tourney
• Men’s basketball: Shaw’s late three lifts Nevada over SJSU, moves Pack into 3rd