Petty ignites second half rally that downs Hawai'i

RENO -- Nevada guard Jerry Petty sat out the most of the first half with zero points and two fouls. He wasn't happy. Midway through the second half, coach Trent Johnson said his defensive assignment was to guard Carl English, the second leading scorer in the Western Athletic Conference who already had 24 points with 15 minutes left to play.

"I was already mad with two fouls. Coaches said 'We're gonna' put you on him," Petty said. "I said 'I'm going to give 'em hell. I'm already mad. Someone's gonna' have a bad day, too.' I take pride in my defense."

Petty limited English to only three points after that. Meanwhile, Petty scored all 13 of his points in the final 10 minutes of the game in the Wolf Pack's 73-65 win over Hawaii on Saturday. Petty hit three 3-pointers in a nine-minute span and was the catalyst in Nevada's game-clinching 14-0 run that put it up 61-52 after trailing 52-47.

"I thought Jerry did as good of job as you could do on a kid like Carl," said coach Trent Johnson. "Jerry's heart is 10-feet big."

Petty, a 5-foot-11 senior guard from Seattle, scored eight points and dished out nine assists in a 86-59 win over San Jose State on Thursday. The Wolf Pack had a season-high 23 assists in that game.

NO MORE GREEN PASTURES

Senior guard Terrance Green, who was coming off a 20-point scoring night in Nevada's win over San Jose State, only played 16 minutes against Hawai'i. The sixth leading scorer in school history was kept under 20 minutes for only the second time this season. He finished with eight points on 3-of-8 shooting and played only six minutes in the second half. Green only played 11 minutes in a 75-67 win over Louisiana Tech on Jan. 16.

HAWAII HITS SKID

The Rainbow Warriors were sitting at 11-2 a week ago and were ranked in the top 25. Now they've lost three straight games and will try and improve on their 11-5 record at home against Rice on Thursday in Honolulu.

Hawai'i is 10-0 at home this season and only 1-5 away from home.

SERIES UPDATE

The overall series between the two teams is tied 6-6 following the Wolf Pack's eight-point win at Lawlor on Saturday. Nevada has won all five home games against Hawaii.

O-BOARDS, OH YEAH

Nevada, the WAC's best offensive rebounding team, out rebounded the Rainbow Warriors on the offensive glass 13-8 in the game and 8-3 in the first half. The Wolf Pack scored 19 second-chance points. Hawai'i had only seven.

LOOKING AHEAD

Nevada's game against Fresno State at Lawlor next Saturday could get it within a game of the first-place Bulldogs in the WAC standings. Fresno State leads the WAC at 8-1. Nevada is 5-3. The Bulldogs beat Hawai'i 56-55 on Thursday in Fresno, Calif., and then beat San Jose State.