Nevada Postgame Notes: - Nevada turned in a 67-54 victory over Santa Clara on Saturday night in the team's home opener at Lawlor Events Center. - The Wolf Pack won its 13th consecutive game at Lawlor Events Center, which is the longest active streak in the WAC and the 15th-longest in the country. The team also won for the 25th time in 26 games at home. In the last four-plus seasons, Nevada has turned in a 61-6 record at Lawlor Events Center. - Senior Marcelus Kemp led three Wolf Pack players in double figures for scoring with 23 points on 9-of-15 shooting. He also made 3-of-6 three-pointers. - Sophomore Brandon Fields and true freshman Armon Johnson each added 13 points for the Wolf Pack. That marked Fields' second consecutive game in double figures after he turned in a career-high 16 points Tuesday at UC Irvine, while Johnson matched his career high. - Fields matched his career best with three steals and tied for the team lead with Kemp with four assists. - Nevada was outrebounded for the second time in three games this year with Santa Clara beating the team on the boards 27-25. - Senior Demarshay Johnson and sophomore Matt LaGrone tied for the team lead with five rebounds apiece. It marked the second time this year that Johnson has paced the Wolf Pack in rebounding. - The Wolf Pack shot 54.2 percent for the game (26-48), its second consecutive game over 50 percent from the field, and made a season-best 38.5 percent from three-point land (5-13). - Nevada returns to action on Saturday, Nov. 24, traveling to Las Vegas to take on in-state rival UNLV at 7:05 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Nevada-Santa Clara Postgame Quotes
November 17, 2007
Senior guard Marcelus Kemp on the difference from the last game:
“Everyone is starting to understand the offense a little better.”
Kemp on his shots falling:
“I got rhythm tonight.”
Kemp on playing in front of the home crowd:
“It felt good. It’s always good to have the home crowd behind us.”
Sophomore guard Brandon Fields on his play:
“I felt like in the first half, I was forcing it. In the second half, I stayed within the offense and let it come to me.”
Head Coach Mark Fox on the team’s offensive performance:
“The first 10 minutes, I thought we played with good energy. Emotionally, we were too wound up in the first half on offense, but we had good energy. We forced some shots.”
Fox on the play of Brandon Fields:
“Brandon (Fields) was able to penetrate tonight because that’s what the defense gave him. He played a lot more mature in the second half.”
Fox on Marcelus Kemp:
“We want Marcelus to be aggressive but aggressive within the system.”
Fox on the crowd:
“It’s great to be home and we needed their help tonight.”
Fox on his inexperienced team:
“This team needs challenges, experience and adversity. We were able to see all of that tonight. We didn’t play well with the lead, but we responded so that’s a positive.”
Fox on Santa Clara’s John Bryant:
“John Bryant is a great player. I thought our kids played hard, but he is a lot to handle.”
Santa Clara Head Coach Kerry Keating on the game:
“I’m disappointed in the outcome of the game of course, but I’m more disappointed with us.”
Keating on his team’s turnovers:
“Any time you turn the ball over more times than assists and field goals you make, it’s going to be a problem on the road.”
Keating on Nevada’s defense in the second half:
“We lost our composure a bit. It was a physical game. I felt we lost focus on defense with a couple charges not going our way.”
Keating on stopping Nevada’s JaVale McGee:
“We wanted to take away McGee and neutralize him. They made money plays.”
Keating on the first half:
“Our guys did a good job executing. We did a good job of passing the ball when we had it.”
Keating on Nevada’s opening run in the second half:
“They (Nevada) responded when we cut it down. They did what a postseason team does and they didn’t panic.”
Santa Clara center John Bryant on the game:
“Our game plan coming into the game was to be physical with their tall athletes. They got us out of some our sets. It’s our first road game at a top school, and it puts a lot of pressure on us.”
Bryant on playing post against Nevada:
“Being a big man, I’m always used to the physicalness . It’s always a physical game down there.”
Bryant on Nevadas offense:
“They were just executing and making shots. It’s their home floor and they shoot baskets as a whole.”
