Nevada Postgame Notes:
- With the 79-67 victory over Fresno State Thursday, Nevada improved to 13-7 overall and 5-3 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Wolf Pack won its third consecutive game, all in league play.
- Senior Marcelus Kemp led the team in scoring with 29 points, one point shy of his season high. It marked his 30th consecutive game in double figures for scoring and the 81st of his career. He also turned in his ninth 20-point effort of the year and the 32nd of his career.
- With his 28 points, Kemp also moved into fourth place on the Nevada career scoring list with 1,667 points.
- The Wolf Pack shot 50.9 percent from the field (29-57), its third consecutive 50 percent shooting effort and its eighth of this season.
- Nevada also turned its season high for three-point percentage, knocking down 61.5 percent from beyond the arc (8-13).
- Freshman Armon Johnson matched his career high with six assists. He turned in just one turnover in the game.
- Sophomore JaVale McGee blocked a pair of shots in the game, the 15th game this season that he has had two or more blocks. He also moved into sixth on the Nevada career list for blocked shots with 90, moving past Kevinn Pinkney (2001-05), who had 89 career blocks.
- The Wolf Pack returns to action Saturday, traveling to Logan, Utah, to take on Utah State. KAME-TV 21 will televise Saturday’s game at Utah State with tip-off scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Mountain (6:05 p.m. Pacific).
Fresno State Quotes
Fresno State head coach Steve Cleveland on the game:
“I think the most important thing is that we could have got beaten by 25, 30 points, and to cut that thing to eight and keep battling and fighting, it was tough.”
Cleveland on Nevada:
“This is the best team we’ve played. This is the best defensive team we’ve played, and Marcelus Kemp is by far the best player in this league. He’s pretty special.”
Cleveland on Nevada:
“They’re really good, long and athletic. They have nine guys that can play. I told them this is the best team we’ve played this year. You don’t go to New Mexico State and beat them there unless they’re pretty good.”
Cleveland on Nevada:
“The thing is they can make a mistake on the perimeter and they have so much size behind them, it makes a big difference.”
Cleveland on his team’s offense against Nevada:
“We’ve played against teams that are long and strong, and they have an advantage. It’s tough. We never got comfortable.”
Cleveland on the three second-half technicals:
“It’s basketball. I don’t even know the young man’s (Matt LaGrone) name. They were kind of pushing and shoving, and they (Hector Hernandez and LaGrone) both deserved technicals. There’s no question.”
Nevada Quotes
Nevada guard Brandon Fields on the first half:
“We had a lot of energy. Every body played team ball. When Marcelus got two fouls, everybody picked it up for Marcelus.”
Fields on guard Marcelus Kemp:
“Marcelus is a great player. He’s been here for a while. He’ll be good at the next level. He helps our team a lot.”
Fields on the carryover from last week’s two wins:
“Winning two games in a row I think that gave us a lot of confidence as a team. There was a lot of energy on the team, and playing in front of a good crowd tonight was good. We have a lot of confidence in each other.”
Nevada forward JaVale McGee on Fresno State’s run in the second half:
“We just had to slow them down. We knew they were good at coming back, especially with Miller with his threes. We just had to slow them down. We needed to play hard defense.”
Nevada senior guard Marcelus Kemp on moving into fourth in the Nevada career scoring list:
“It’s great to move up in the record book and is a great accomplishment for me, but I’m more excited about the wins and championships we’ve been able to get.”
Kemp on his start:
“I just took what they gave me and my shots were able to fall.”
Kemp on the production of his teammates when he picked up two early fouls:
“This team is more than just me. We have a lot of guys who can make plays. I’m proud of my teammates tonight.”
Nevada Head Coach Mark Fox on his team’s offense:
“We’ve matured as an offensive group. We understand what we are trying to do. We’re playing together and we found a good percentage.”
Fox on tonight’s game:
“We played solid on both ends in the first half. We didn’t rebound well but had an advantage in the half. Marcelus (Kemp) got off to a great start before he got in foul trouble. The bench was really productive for us in the first half. We’re getting better and we’re getting better every game.”
Fox on missed free throws:
“Our kids were excited to be home with the students back and a nice crowd. We got some loose balls and really made a lot of plays that helped us win.”
Fox on Fresno State’s offensive rebounds:
“They got a lot of offensive rebounds, but there were a lot of misses. Of course a lot of misses lead to a lot of rebounds, but our defense was good... We didn’t rebound it as well when we got ahead.”
