2008 College Basketball Invitational
Houston vs. Nevada March 18, 2008
Nevada Postgame Notes
- With the 80-79 loss to Houston on Tuesday night in the first round of the College Basketball Invitational, Nevada ends the 2007-08 season with a 21-12 overall record. The five-time defending Western Athletic Conference champion Wolf Pack turned in the team’s fifth consecutive 20-win season and the 10th in school history.
- Nevada saw its six-game home winning streak come to an end and finished the season with a 13-3 mark at Lawlor Events Center.
- Senior Marcelus Kemp led the Wolf Pack with 24 point and five assists, both game highs. Second on the Nevada career scoring list, he finished his Nevada career with 1,939 points. Kemp is also Nevada’s career leader in three-pointers made with 227.
- Freshman Armon Johnson added 16 points, while sophomore Brandon Fields added 15 on 3-of-6 shooting from three-point land. Sophomore JaVale McGee added 12 points and freshman Malik Cooke scored a career-best 10 points.
- Senior Demarshay Johnson led the team with seven rebounds, the seventh time this season that he paced the squad in the category. Kemp and McGee each pulled down six boards. Houston outrebounded Nevada 38-37, marking the 14th time this year that Nevada was outrebounded (4-10 record in those games).
- Houston made 14 three-pointers in the game, a season high for a Nevada opponent. The Cougars shot 40.0 percent from three-point land in the contest (14-35).
- McGee blocked a pair of shots in the game, finishing the season with 92 rejections. That ranks second on the Nevada career list, just four behind the school-record of 96 blocks set by Edgar Jones in 1977-78.
- Nevada also finished the season with 192 blocked shots, which sets the school single-season mark. The previous mark was 167 by the 2004-05 Nevada squad.
Nevada Quotes
Nevada guard Armon Johnson on the last play:
“I had a good look. It just didn’t go down for me.”
“Their big man was on me, so I tried taking advantage of it and tried to get to the basket.
Johnson on the game:
“It was really back and forth. It was a nice game. They’re a pretty good team. It was fun.”
Johnson on his performance this season:
“I think I’ve grown tremendously. The seniors have been showing me the ropes, and Coach Fox has been helping me a lot. I think I have grown up a lot.”
Johnson on the next season:
“I can’t wait to get into the gym right now. Tomorrow I’m going to be out there shooting trying to get my shot and try to get everything right and try to get the team together like chemistry.”
Nevada guard Marcelus Kemp on team’s performance:
“I’m not disappointed with any of my teammates. Everybody contributed. Everybody played hard. We just didn’t get the win tonight, but everybody played hard.
Kemp on playing the final game of his college career:
“I had a pretty good career here and now I know it’s time to move on. I’m ready to move on. I’m ready to try new things. I’m a little sad we lost at home on our last game, but like I said we fought hard and competed.”
Kemp on the fans:
“I’m glad the fans came out and showed us support. At times, it helped us. It got pretty loud here today.”
Kemp on the game:
“We have a lot of competitive players. That’s what they do, come back and play hard. We didn’t do that in the first half.”
Kemp on team’s defensive performance:
“With their team, their offense is kind of like pickup. A lot of their team has a pretty good range. We didn’t defend anybody or players like that. It didn’t catch us off guard. We were there on some shots, but they were just making their shots.”
Nevada forward Malik Cooke on the game:
“I was happy to be out there and contribute to the team. I’m sorry we lost and to see our season end.”
Nevada Head Coach Mark Fox on the game and Houston:
“At the end of the night, our defensive numbers were solid. Nearly half of their shots this year have come from the three-point line. They were hot from the three-point line in the first half. They even banked one in at the end of the first half. That was the difference in the game. They are an excellent offensive shooting team. I thought we adjusted well in the second half.”
Fox on the crowd:
“Our crowd lifted our kids tonight. We competed hard. I thought we represented our school well in the second half. We played hard.”
Fox on the last play:
“They took Marcelus away and Armon had the shot. It just didn’t go down. He feels bad about that.”
Fox on the career of Marcelus Kemp:
“Marcelus has been a terrific player for our school. He’s grown up a lot as a person, student and play, and to experience that with somebody is a remarkable experience. I’m just really proud of having the chance to coach him.”
“Marcelus is a gifted scorer. He’s going to be a professional player. It’s going to have to be with the right team if it’s the NBA... He’s ready to succeed in society.”
Fox on Nevada’s four seniors:
“I told them that it’s been a privilege to coach them. Curry Lynch has contributed so much to our team and people don’t see that, David Ellis has made so many plays for us and for Demarshay to come back and grow up so much and for all four of them to graduate.”
“I put it (the season) all on the seniors this year, and they brought home a trophy.”
Fox on the team and the season:
“This team wasn’t picked to win the WAC, but the WAC is sending us a trophy. I’m proud of our kids for that. I’m proud that people stood in line for two hours, that our fans care so much is special to me. That Armon cares so much that he missed that shot that he wants to get in the gym tomorrow means so much for me.”
Houston Quotes
Houston head coach Tom Penders on the game:
“We were just very fortunate to win against an outstanding club. They’re an NCAA Tournament team. We felt like we have an outstanding ball club.”
Penders on Houston guard Robert McKiver:
“He scores when we need him to score. I’m happy for him.”
Penders on the CBI:
“The style of the game was exciting. Fans on national television, it’s a good showing for the first CBI. It’s not a knock on the NIT. I feel like this tournament in the future will get the best teams and take the politics away.”
Penders on Nevada’s second-half run:
“Fluff (Robert McKiver) nailed the big shot. We tried to mix up our defenses. It was a great game.”
Penders on his team’s 3-pointers:
“We’re undefeated when we shoot 40. We’ll take them.
“We have some great guards. The kid’s (Robert McKiver) got not only NBA range but has that half-court shot range.”
Penders on Nevada’s JaVale McGee:
“The big kid is going to be something else.”
Houston guard Robert McKiver on the game:
“The crowd’s great. I told the guys and they didn’t believe me that there were a lot of guys outside in line for tickets (on Monday).”
McKiver on his performance:
“I was trying to mix it up going to the basket and shooting 3s. It was more controlling the game in the second half.”
