Nevada coach
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Wolf Pack
clinch WAC
Hawaii held Nevada’s offense down
and trailed by two with 1:09 left,
but couldn’t get closer
Nevada didn't exactly play the role of nationally ranked power to perfection last night, but the Wolf Pack still managed to beat a misfiring Hawaii basketball team.
NEXT UP vs. Fresno State tomorrow
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Hawaii scored just 14 points in the first half, shot 29.4 percent from the field in the game and posted its lowest point total since 1998.
"We played good D," UH guard Matt Gibson said. "We held them under their averages, we did our job defensively. But we didn't step up offensively. We didn't hit shots."
The Rainbows held Nevada to seven field goals in the second half and limited the Wolf Pack to 37 percent shooting.
UH managed to pull even with the Wolf Pack with 10:24 left. But Nevada made eight free throws in the final 1:04 to send the Rainbows to their fifth straight defeat.
"They did what they needed to do down the stretch. That reminds us of a lot of games this year," UH forward Jeff Blackett said.
Nevada, ranked 25th by the Associated Press, claimed the Western Athletic Conference's regular-season title outright, as well as the top seed in next week's WAC tournament, with its ninth straight win.
The Wolf Pack (23-5, 15-2 WAC) also remained perfect on the road in league play, improving to 8-0.
The Rainbows (14-12, 6-11) have lost seven of the last eight and are tied with Boise State for seventh place in the conference heading into tomorrow's regular-season finale against Fresno State.
Nevada's post duo of Nick Fazekas and Kevinn Pinkney carried the Wolf Pack with double-double performances. Fazekas scored 10 of his game-high 20 points from the free-throw line and grabbed 12 rebounds. Pinkney added 14 points and 13 boards.
"Why is Nevada 8-0 on the road? Because of Pinkney, Fazekas and (Jermaine) Washington being the kind of defense players they are at the glass," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "They don't give you anything free."
Nevada, which committed a season-high 23 turnovers in a 58-55 win over UH on Jan. 1, again had trouble hanging on to the ball and gave it away 18 times. But the Wolf Pack outrebounded UH 46-33 and made 19 of 24 free throws.
"We looked like we swam over here," Nevada coach Mark Fox said. "Our offense struggled in the first half, we looked so fatigued. Luckily we played defense."
Gibson was the only Rainbow to reach double figures, finishing with 14 points. Seven of those came in the final 6:43 as UH tried to mount a rally.
The Rainbows were 20-for-68 from the field and 3-for-22 from 3-point range.
"We just have to be more patient," Wallace said. "If teams don't give you those early looks, you have to get deeper into your offense and this team has not done that all year long."
Hawaii made just six shots in shooting 19 percent from the field in the first half as Nevada took a 23-14 lead into halftime.
It was the first time UH failed to reach 20 points in the first half of a game since the Rainbows' loss at Nevada last March in which the 'Bows trailed 31-16 at the break.
Nevada was just a little better at 38 percent (11-for-29) and led 23-14 at halftime. The Wolf Pack used a 10-0 run early in the game to take a 14-5 lead.
The Rainbows cracked through the lid on the rim in the second half and closed to within a point at 30-29 on Jake Sottos' baseline jumper and tied the game on a Julian Sensley free throw with 10:46 left.
Nevada inched ahead again and opened up a 47-37 advantage when Pinkney drained a jumper from the right side with 2:56 left.
A 3-pointer by Sottos and a layup by Vaidotas Peciukas brought UH back to within striking distance. Gibson then hit a 15-foot jumper while being fouled and his free throw tightened the score to 47-45 with 1:09 left.
After two free throws by Ramon Sessions, Gibson took a bounce pass from Sensley for another layup to keep UH's hopes alive.
But Fazekas and Pinkney combined to hit six more free throws each to put the game out of reach.
Nevada 55, Hawaii 47
Wolf Pack (23-5, 15-2 WAC) fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Shiloh 2 9 0 0 34 7 0 4 Sessions 1 6 5 6 33 2 3 7 Pinkney 5 9 4 4 33 13 0 14 Fazekas 5 11 10 14 32 12 1 20 Washington 1 3 0 0 28 5 0 2 Charlo 4 8 0 0 26 3 3 8 Taylor 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 Bell 0 3 0 0 12 3 0 0 TEAM 1 Totals 18 49 19 24 200 46 7 55 Rainbow Warriors (14-12, 6-11 wac) fg fga ft fta min reb a tp Gibson 6 18 1 1 40 3 4 14 Sottos 3 11 0 0 23 2 1 8 Blackett 4 13 0 0 39 5 1 8 Sensley 2 10 2 4 39 5 5 6 Botez 2 5 0 2 24 5 0 4 Gipson 0 4 0 0 8 2 0 0 Peciukas 1 2 1 2 10 2 0 3 Tatum 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 Nash 2 4 0 0 14 1 0 4 TEAM 8 Totals 20 68 4 9 200 33 11 47 Key -- fg: field goals made; fga: field goals attempted; ft: free throws made; fta: free throws attempted; min: minutes played; reb: rebounds; a: assists; tp: total points.
Halftime -- Nevada 23, Hawaii 14
3-point goals -- Nevada 0-5 (Shiloh 0-1, Sessions 0-1, Fazekas 0-3), Hawaii 3-22 (Sottos 2-8, Gibson 1-6, Gipson 0-1, Peciukas 0-1, Nash 0-1, Sensley 0-5). Personal fouls -- Nevada 13, Hawaii 16.
Steals -- Nevada 3 (Shiloh 2, Washington), Hawaii 6 (Sensley 4, Blackett 2). Blocked shots -- Nevada 3 (Fazekas 2, Washington), Hawaii 7 (Blackett 2, Botez 2, Sensley, Gipson, Nash). Turnovers -- Nevada 18 (Sessions 5, Fazekas 4, Charlo 4, Washington 2, Shiloh, Bell, TEAM), Hawaii 7 (Gibson, Sottos, Blackett, Botez, Gipson, Peciukas, Nash). Officials -- Christman, Batsell, Barr. A -- 6,511.
WAC standings
WAC Overall W L Pct. GB W L Nevada 15 2 .882 -- 23 5 UTEP 13 4 .765 2 23 7 Rice 11 6 .647 4 17 10 Fresno State 9 8 .529 6 15 12 SMU 9 8 .529 6 14 12 Louisiana Tech 8 9 .471 7 13 14 Hawaii 6 11 .353 9 14 12 Boise State 6 11 .353 9 13 16 Tulsa 5 12 .294 10 9 18 San Jose State 3 14 .176 12 6 21 Yesterday
Nevada 55, Hawaii 47
Fresno St. 74, San Jose St. 55
SMU 81, Tulsa 74
Rice 78, Louisiana Tech 64
Tomorrow
Fresno State at Hawaii, 7:05 p.m.
Nevada at San Jose State
Tulsa at Louisiana Tech
Rice at SMU
Boise State at UTEP
Nothing fazes
Nevada’s Fazekas
Last March, Nick Fazekas was a baby-faced freshman accomplice of Kirk Snyder as the Nevada Wolf Pack made their surprise run into the Sweet Sixteen.
This year, Fazekas is clearly the leader of the 'Pack, and maybe the best player in the Western Athletic Conference. Last night at the Sheriff Center, his still not-ready-for-the-razor mug was mostly covered by that basketball badge of honor, the protective mask.
Fazekas' nose bled for more than an hour when it was broken in a win against Fresno State on Saturday. Last night he made Hawaii pay for it with 20 points and 12 rebounds in Nevada's 55-47 win to clinch the WAC regular-season championship.
"It was not one of his better nights, but his numbers were solid," Wolf Pack coach Mark Fox said of Fazekas after Nevada won for the first time in Hawaii after seven losses.
He practiced with a mask earlier in the week in Reno, but it broke in his travel bag and a replacement had to be flown in yesterday. Fazekas was unfazed by any of it.
"It's the same thing, and it's not that different anyway. It just takes a little getting used to," he said.
He didn't consider not playing.
"You've got to come out and help give your team the best chance of winning," he said.
The game was as ugly as the bruise under Fazekas' right eye.
Nevada's Nick Fazekas kept the ball away from Hawaii defenders last night. Fazekas had 20 points and 12 rebounds.
But the game regressed into trench warfare, where the big men battle extra-hard for position, simply because there are so many more rebounds to be had than usual because of poor shooting. Nevada got 46 boards to 33 for Hawaii.
"We're a good rebounding team," Fox said. "It's one of the advantages we have to utilize."
Games like this are dangerous for the team that gets the better of the first half, because it doesn't take much for the opponent to turn it around. That's what happened when the Rainbows went on a run and closed to 27-25 with 15:25 left in the game; Fazekas' 18-footer accounted for Nevada's only second-half points at that juncture.
But overall in this 2 hours of March Badness, the Wolf Pack were a little less sloppy, a little less inaccurate.
As it got closer to the end, Nevada seemed to remember it was the best team in the conference, hitting eight consecutive free throws down the stretch. Fazekas finally took off the mask after making the last one with 8 seconds left.
It was a scratch-and-claw game, with the tempo and intensity resembling that of a high school championship game between two teams with shattered nerves.
But Fazekas, the man with the broken nose, remained calm through it all. And confident.
"He doesn't give it up when he gets it," UH coach Riley Wallace said. "You don't see him make a lot of passes. And he thinks every shot he can make."
The Rainbows' Jeff Blackett had the job of trying to stop him most of the game.
"He's a good player. He's proven that all year," Blackett said.
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