By DARRELL MOODY
Appeal Staff Writer
FRESNO - Once again, University of Nevada is one game away from the promised land.
The Wolf Pack moved one step closer to its dream of making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1985 with a tough 67-59 win over Rice in the Western Athletic Conference semifinals Friday night at the Save Mart Center.
Nevada, 22-8, faces UTEP tonight at 6 (ESPN2) with the WAC's automatic NCAA bid on the line. The Wolf Pack have won six straight and 13 of its last 15 games. Not a bad way to end the year.
"It was a war," Nevada coach Trent Johnson. "Rice is a physical team, and they really get after you. It was as tough a game as we've had all year. We fought our way through. I thought we played real well."
"As strong as this team has been, for us to be in this position is admirable. Going into the year, everyone put a big bulls-eye on our chest. But I think it speaks volumes, especially in this league, which I think is one of the top six in the country."
Johnson said he has no clue on whether his talented club has done enough already to reach the NCAAs. Obviously he'd like to take the decision out of the selection committee's hands with a win tonight.
Rice coach Willis Wilson thinks they're a lock.
"Nevada is a tremendous basketball team," he said. "They're an NCAA team regardless of what happens. I think they will do good in the tournament and go deep in the tournament. They will go, there's no doubt in my mind."
It will be Nevada's second straight trip to the WAC finals, and the Wolf Pack have a different mindset.
"Last year it was different," said Kirk Snyder, who scored 14 of his 20 points in the second half. "This year, we came in expecting to win. Last year, we were just trying to go as far as we could.
"This means a lot to our team. We've been here and know what it's like, and now we want to win."
If the Wolf Pack can play like it did in the second half, a win is a strong possibility.
Nevada shot 52 percent from the floor, was aggressive at the offensive end of the floor which resulted in plenty of Rice fouls. That enabled Nevada to get to the line 13 more times than Rice, a fact not lost on Wilson.
"I guess you could call it a game of attrition," he said. "Unfortunately, we were on the side that the attrition had the most impact. We were at a disadvantage when we were in foul trouble. We couldn't play as aggressively as we would have liked, and as a result we couldn't get to the free throw line."
The first six-plus minutes of the second half were crucial for the Wolf Pack. Nevada extended its two-point halftime lead to 39-30 thanks to a 14-7 surge. Kevinn Pinkney, who enjoyed his second double-double of the season with 12 points and 11 rebounds, started the surge with a putback, and Garry Hill-Thomas scored six of the Wolf Pack's next eight points to lead the way.
"The first five minutes of the second half was huge," Johnson said. "My hats off to our guys. They believe in what we're doing and what's needed to win games."
Rice stayed within striking distance, closing to five three different times, 47-42, 49-44 and 51-46. The last five-point lead was with seven minutes left, and Snyder made possibly the most important play of the game eight seconds later. He drove the lane, sank the basket and drew a fifth foul on Rice star Michael Harris (14 points). After a Rice miss, Todd Okeson came off a screen and hit a huge three-pointer for a 55-46 lead with 6:06 left.
Without Harris and Yamar Diene (injured), the Owls had no inside presence. They had to rely on Jason McKrieth, and he came through with two free throws and a three ball to make it 59-54 with 3:23 left. A lean-in by Snyder and a free throw by Pinkney got the lead back to eight with 1:18 left.
"I just tried to stay aggressive," McKrieth said. "It was a big loss when Mike went to the bench. I tried to go out and play our style of basketball and just battle to the end."
The Wolf Pack had another nice surge, and that came in a three-minute span late in the first half.
Trailing 20-15, Nevada scored 10 straight points to take a 25-20 lead. Okeson had a three and a free throw, and junior Jermaine Washington had a sensational putback and a layup. Washington finished with 12 points and eight rebounds.
"He gave us a great lift," Johnson said. "He rebounds well, and he's quick to the ball. He's been huge lately, but I'm not surprised."
Nevada gave three of those back, as Johnson was whistled for a technical by Bob Sitov.
"I thought Jermaine was grabbed at the other end, and it didn't get called," he said. 'I reacted (to a foul called on us) and walked away. I lost my composure and I was in the wrong."
That set the stage for a tremendous second half by the Wolf Pack, who hope the momentum carries over to today.