Nevada Postgame Notes:
- With the 85-80 victory over WAC leader Utah State, Nevada improved to 16-8 overall and 8-3 in WAC play. The game marked the Wolf Pack’s third in five days, while the team is in the middle of a stretch of five games in 10 days. Nevada also moved within a half-game of Utah State for first in the league standings and is tied with Boise State and New Mexico State for second at 8-3.
- The win was Nevada’s sixth in its last seven games.
- It also marked the Wolf Pack’s 18th win in its last 19 WAC regular-season home games and its 35th home win in its last 38 tries.
- Senior Marcelus Kemp led the Wolf Pack in scoring with a career-best 35 points. He turned in the fourth 30-point game of his career.
- Kemp also moved into third place on the Nevada career scoring list with 1,757 points, overtaking Alex Boyd who had 1,731 from 1967-70.
- He also made 4-of-8 three-pointers in the victory and now has 208 career three-pointers, which is just one shy of the Nevada career record which is held by Terrance Green (209 treys, 1999-03).
- The Wolf Pack dished out a season-high 24 assists for the third consecutive game. Kemp and freshman Armon Johnson each turned in six assists to lead the team. That marked a season high for Kemp, who had no turnovers, while it was the
- Nevada also turned the ball over a season-low four times.
- The Wolf Pack also scored at least 80 points for the sixth time in the last eight games.
- Sophomore JaVale McGee blocked six shots in the game, marked the fourth game this year that he has had at least six blocks.
- The Wolf Pack returns to the road later this week, traveling to Boise State on Thursday, Jan. 14 and to Idaho on Saturday, Jan. 16.
Nevada Quotes
Nevada senior guard Marcelus Kemp on the overall play tonight:
“It was a good win, we fought hard and got the job done. We got the win.”
Kemp on the second half surge by Utah State:
“We kept our composure and stayed in the offense. Jaycee (Carroll) and others made some tough shots but we kept our composure and got the win. We made some key free throws in the end.”
Nevada Junior G Lyndale Burleson on the win and defending against Jaycee Carroll:
“We came out here to show we can play with these guys. We played hard and got the win. He’s a good player and I tried to stick with him. I know he likes to get his shots up and I tried to stay on his hip.”
Kemp on the M-V-P chant from the crowd:
“I didn’t hear it. I was focused on making the free throws and winning the game.”
Nevada freshman point guard Armon Johnson on playing in front of home crowd:
“It was a great game, the atmosphere was crazy. I’m glad the fans came and I hope they keep coming.”
Johnson on the overall flow of the game:
I let the game come to me the whole time. My shots were there, so I took advantage of it.”
Kemp on playing three games in five days:
“I’m fine. Coach makes us take ice baths, so I’m fresh.”
Kemp on moving into 3rd all time on the Nevada scoring list:
“It’s a great accolade for me. I never saw him play, but I heard he (Alex Boyd) was great player, so it’s a great honor. I’m just glad we got the win.”
Burleson on the importance of the home crowd:
“I hope the fans keep coming, it’s great for our team, for everybody.”
Nevada Head Coach Mark Fox on the performance by Utah State’s Jaycee Carroll:
“Jaycee Carroll is a great player. It felt like he made 10 three pointers. He’s a terrific player and representative of his team and our conference. He made a three that we blocked on the way up, so give him credit. He’s a terrific player.”
Coach Fox on the performance of the offense:
“We’ve really matured offensively. I think we’ve been able to see that the last few games... That was a huge factor in the game.”
Coach Fox on five games in 10 days:
“We have five games in 10 days and the last two are on the road. I’m concerned about how much juice we have in the tank this weekend. We’re not picked to win the conference so to be where we’re at is a great accomplishment for this team.”
Coach Fox on the play of Marcelus Kemp:
“He’s just a warrior. He loves big games and big moments. He came back to get a degree and have a great senior season, and he’s been able to do that... I’m really proud of the leadership he’s given us all year.”
Coach Fox on the importance of the win:
“We beat an excellent team that we have a lot of respect for. They outrebounded us and shot a higher percentage, but we worked hard to beat an excellent team.”
Coach Fox on the play of sophomore center JaVale McGee:
“JaVale is still growing. He’s learning to become better defensively every day and be more than a shot blocker. But tonight was a physical game and he made some key plays down the end for us.”
Coach Fox on the play of the bench:
“David Ellis played like a senior, he’s been playing well. Matt LaGrone gave us some great minutes, Ray Kraemer gave us some great minutes.”
Utah State Quotes
Utah State Head Coach Stew Morrill on Nevada:
“They’re pretty good. They played awfully well. We knew what we were up against with how well they’ve been playing, their talent level. Our team hung in there and battled, I’ve got no complaints about our effort. We were playing catch up the rest of the way.”
“That’s a young basketball team that is getting better, that’s for sure.”
Morrill on Nevada guard Marcelus Kemp:
“Obviously Kemp, we had no answer for Kemp. You got to guard a guy like that with the whole team and we didn’t do that. We didn’t switch off long enough. He’s really good.”
Morrill on his team’s performance:
“We had some errors that hurt us, but they deserve credit. They played well on their home court. We had the tempo of the game where we wanted it.”
Utah State forward Gary Wilkinson on performance on the road:
“I think we are making steps in the right direction. You need to take a positive attitude on the road. We need to learn how to win on the road. I’m learning how to win on the road in the WAC. When you go on the road, you need to buckle down and play defense.”
Wilkinson on the game:
“It is frustrating, I think that stretch in the first half if we just kept our composure and stuck with it on the defensive end, it might turn out. It’s better than getting blown out by 30. (Nevada) played hard tonight.”
Utah State guard Jaycee Carroll on his performance:
“The second half, I tried to be aggressive. Nevada was all over me. They did a good job defending. They were physical. They were active. We played hard all night. We did came back and fight.”
Carroll on playing at Nevada:
“Not a lot of teams are going to win here. Nevada’s always tough to beat here. We did battle. We stayed with them and battled back. With Nevada and a near capacity crowd, I was really happy with the way we battled.”
