Postgame Notes
San Jose State at Nevada Postgame Notes:
- With the 84-46 victory over San Jose State on Thursday night, Nevada improved to 14-8 overall and 6-3 in the WAC.
- The team also won for the 16th time in 17 WAC regular-season games at Lawlor Events Center.
- Nevada scored 84 points, which marked the fourth time in six games that the team has topped the 80-point mark and the eighth time this year (7-1 record in those games).
- Sophomore JaVale McGee led the team with 19 points, just one point shy of his career high. It marked the fourth time this year that he has led the team in scoring.
- Senior Marcelus Kemp turned in 14 points, which marked his 32nd consecutive game in double figures. He now has 1,697 career points and needs just 34 points to tie for third on the Wolf Pack career scoring list.
- Sophomores Ray Kraemer and Brandon Fields each turned in 11 points. That marked a career high for Kraemer who also made a career-best 3-of-3 three-pointers in the game. Kraemer’s effort also led a 30-point bench effort for the Wolf Pack.
- Junior Lyndale Burleson added a season-high 10 points.
- Nevada dished out a season-high 24 assists in the game, led by freshman Armon Johnson who tied his career high with six.
- The 38-point victory also marked Nevada’s biggest margin of victory this season. Its previous high was 29 points in a 104-75 victory over Cal State Stanislaus on Dec. 31.
- The Wolf Pack returns to action on Saturday, playing host to the University of Hawai’i. ESPN2 will broadcast the game to a national television audience with tip-off slated for 3:05 p.m., while the game is Silver Saturday with the Wolf Pack Athletics Department handing out free silver T-shirts to every fan in attendance.
Nevada Quotes
Nevada senior guard Marcelus Kemp on the first of 5 games in 10 days:
“It’s great to start this streak with a win. We all came out, played hard, played defense, got some rebounds and got the win.”
Nevada junior guard Lyndale Burleson on the overall play of the team tonight:
“Everything was clicking for everyone. We were really excited to play the game, especially these guys. We played really good. We brought our A’ game, played D and won.”
Nevada sophomore guard Ray Kraemer on his role in the game:
“I felt I could help the team out and play my role. I got in a good shooting rhythm and just hit the open shots.”
Kemp on protecting the early lead:
“Early in the season with an early lead, we came out flat in the second half. Tonight Coach made sure we came out, played D and he kept us ready.”
Kraemer on his role with the team:
“I’m here and I want to help my team out. It doesn’t matter if it’s 30 seconds or 10 minutes. Whatever it is, I want to help my team out, play good defense and keep the offense (going) well. I’m here to play and do what I have to do.”
Nevada Head Coach Mark Fox on the game:
“I thought we would play well. We practiced well. We have improved in the last month. We understand how to play offense a little better. We understand how to play together. A lot of the guys got the ball in the right spot to score.
“We made each other better. We made 24 assists, which if it isn’t a season high, it’s pretty close. We defended when we had the lead so we’re getting better.”
“Tonight we showed we understand how to play. The key was playing consistent with (SJSU) and I was really proud of our kids, they played very well at both ends.”
Fox on Nevada forward JaVale McGee:
“JaVale played well early, he got the ball in the right position. He had someone throwing the ball which was a key to that.”
Fox on protecting the lead:
“I think we defend with the lead and we were able to get some points off our defense and sustain our defense. A lot of times when you get a lead, you get sloppy offensively, but we didn’t do that. We were able to execute even though we were ahead.”
Fox on Kraemer:
“Ray shot the ball very well, he’s an excellent shooter and he just needs more time.”
Fox on upcoming games:
“Five games in 10 days is going to be a challenge. We need to take it a game at a time and a day at a time. Tonight, luckily we were able to spread the minutes. Hopefully we can stay as fresh as we can during the stretch.”
San Jose State Quotes
San Jose State coach George Nessman on the game:
“I think Nevada played at a high level and we played below our level. When you put those two pieces together, you’re going to get a bad result. We got the result we deserved and they got the result they deserved. They definitely outplayed us.”
Nessman on JaVale McGee:
“He’s an easy-on player and young players respond when they’re doing well. I thought he got off to a good start. Last time we played them, he didn’t get off to a very great start and I think that has something to do with it.”
Nessman comparing tonight’s game to SJSU’s 62-60 win over Nevada on Jan. 10:
“I can’t put my finger on one thing. You have to look at it as a total package. I don’t think they played a great game last time we played them and we played really well. Then tonight I thought they played really well and we played really poorly. So when you balance those things out you’re going to get the results those two games reflect.”
Nessman on his team’s effort during Nevada runs:
“I felt we got discouraged. You have to compete on every play and I don’t think we did at times.”
