Feb. 25, 2006
Final Stats
LOGAN, Utah (AP) - Marcelus Kemp scored 26 points and Nick Fazekas had 23 points and 16 rebounds to lead No. 25 Nevada to a 75-57 victory over Utah State on Saturday, clinching for the third straight year.
The Wolf Pack (22-5, 11-3) won their ninth in a row and can clinch the league regular season title outright for a second straight year with a victory in either of their final two home games against Fresno State and San Jose State.
Nevada also shared the regular season title with UTEP two years ago and hosts the league tournament, which begins March 7.
Utah State (19-7, 9-5) could have tied Nevada for first place - and swept the Wolf Pack for the season - with a win, but the Aggies never recovered after missing 15 of their first 18 shots.
Jaycee Carroll led Utah State with 17 points, scoring 13 in the second half as the Aggies tried to rally. Cass Matheus was the only other Aggie to score in double figures, finishing with 10 points.
Kyle Shiloh added 11 points for the Wolf Pack, who shot 68 percent (13-for-19) in the second half.
Nevada let a 15-point lead drop to five midway through the second half when Chris Huber got Utah State within 47-42 on a 3-pointer with about 11 minutes remaining.
Then Kemp and Fazekas took over the game during a 13-4 run that took away what little momentum Utah State had gained.
Kemp started the run with a 3-pointer and the 6-foot-11 Fazekas was about three feet behind the arc when he got a 3 to bounce in off the rim as Nevada scored eight in a row. Fazekas also tipped in a rebound and had a dunk as the Wolf Pack took over with a 60-46 lead.
Nevada went 29-for-53 from the floor despite missing its first three shots of the game.
The Wolf Pack recovered from the slow start and made six in a row during a 14-2 run early in the first half. Kemp started it with back-to-back 3-pointers and had another long jumper during the spurt as the Wolf Pack took advantage of some woeful shooting by the Aggies.
Utah State opened the game 3-for-18, then slowly cut the lead to 28-20 before the Wolf Pack made another run at the end of the half. Ramon Sessions got a short jumper off just before the buzzer and Nevada led 37-24 at halftime.
|
