Boise State at Nevada
January 15, 2009
Game Notes:
- With the 77-63 win over Boise State on Thursday night, Nevada improved its record to 10-7 overall on the season and 3-1 in WAC play. The team picked up its third straight WAC victory and won for the 21st time in 23 WAC regular-season home games.
- Nevada also won for the 43rd time in its last 51 contests at Lawlor Events Center and has turned in a 79-13 home record since the start of the 2003-04 season.
- Sophomore Armon Johnson led the team in scoring for the fifth time this season and turned in his fifth 20-point game of the year with 25 points.
- Johnson also added five assists with only one turnover, the eighth time this year that he has only had one turnover.
- Freshman Luke Babbitt turned in his third double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds.
- The Wolf Pack outrebounded the Broncos 43-37, marking the sixth consecutive game that Nevada has outrebounded its opponent. Nevada has a 7-3 record this season when outrebounding its opponents.
- Sophomore Malik Cooke added nine points and nine rebounds for Nevada, while junior Joey Shaw also scored nine.
- The WAC’s blocked shots leader at 1.94 per game, freshman Dario Hunt added another two blocks, the 12th time this year that he has had two or more blocks in a game. He now has 33 blocks on the season, 11 shy of the Nevada freshman record of 44 set by Nick Fazekas in 2003-04.
- Nevada continues its three-game homestand on Saturday, Jan. 17, playing host to Fresno State at Lawlor Events Center. Saturday’s game will tip off at 7:05 p.m. Pacific Time and can be heard on Nevada’s radio flagship, ESPN 630 AM, and its radio affiliates throughout the state with Ryan Radtke calling the action. It will also be televised on Comcast SportsNet California and as part of the ESPN Full Court package.
Nevada Quotes
Freshman Luke Babbitt
On the win:
“It was a tough game. Boise State is a good team. We feel fortunate to win this one time. Armon carried us tonight.”
On the team’s progress:
“I think we’ve grown a lot. The road trip helped us. We’re growing every day. We have the right mindset in practice... to get better every day. That’s the most important thing and I think we’re doing that.”
On the second half:
“Our whole team got in a groove in the second half. My shots started falling.”
Sophomore Armon Johnson
On the game:
“We had some players hit some big shots and step up in crunch time. We had good rebounding.”
On Boise State’s comeback in the second half:
“It felt like at times we got comfortable. Coach reminded us not to get comfortable and that (Boise State) is a good team and can always come back.”
On his night:
“It seemed like there were a lot of opportunities for me tonight. My teammates have been making shots. I’m always looking for them, but when they’re not open, there is opportunity for me.”
Junior Joey Shaw
On being back at home:
“It felt good. We had a good turnout tonight and felt like a good team. We went out and got the win.”
Head Coach Mark Fox
On the game:
“It was a hard-fought game. We beat a good basketball team. Both teams gave a good effort, and we were fortunate to win.”
On the start:
“We started the game well. Our defense was outstanding. We rebounded it well.”
On Boise State:
“Boise State is a good basketball team. They understand how to win. We knew they would come back and they did.”
On the progress of his team:
“We’re growing up and we need games like this... We need every experience. We showed progress tonight.”
On the play of Armon Johnson:
“Armon played well. He scored the ball and had a good assist-to-turnover ratio. He hasn’t shot the ball well in games, but is a good shooter in practice and that’ll come. He was very complete and defended better. He’s maturing as a player.”
On withstanding Boise State’s second-half comeback:
“We didn’t have a lot of turnovers. We gave ourselves a chance to sustain our lead.”
On his team’s rebounding:
“We rebounded it well, not great, but they did too. Both teams were physical on the glass. We were fortunate to get a few more rebounds than they did.”
Boise State Quotes
Boise State Head Coach Greg Graham
On the game:
“I think we started with a sense of urgency like they did. I thought we did a good job in the first half bouncing back. I’m sure (Nevada) coach (Mark Fox) told them to get going in the first five minutes and they did and we didn’t.”
“It was a good lesson for us. In the conference, it’s a little bit tougher.”
On Nevada’s defense:
“They did a good job. They are quick and very athletic. They’ve played some good teams this preseason so they know how to compete and play. They got after us and we broke down.”
On Nevada guard Armon Johnson and forward Luke Babbitt:
“They’re very good players. There’s a reason the coaches voted for (Armon Johnson). He’s a good player. (Luke) Babbitt’s stats were probably ahead of (Nick) Fazekas. Those two are very good players.”
Boise State guard Anthony Thomas
On the game:
“We didn’t come out with the energy we usually come out with.”
On Nevada:
“This is a tough place to play. Nevada’s a good team. The conference is tight. They got the upper hand. They played harder. They got loose balls. They made key shots. It just came down to execution and they did that tonight.”
On the team’s defense:
“I feel we did pretty good defensively. We were down at 16 in one point and then we cut it down to four. It wasn’t our defense that we thought was the problem. It was more on the offense and the turnovers. We need to cut down the turnovers on offense and I think our offense was decent.”
