Pack looks for revenge in Fresno

Nevada will be out for a little revenge and hopes to continue its winning ways on the road when it visits Fresno State tonight in a key Western Athletic Conference game.

Tip-off is set for 7:05 p.m. at Save Mart Center and a crowd of more than 10,000 is expected.

The 25th-ranked Wolf Pack (21,5, 13-2) would like nothing more than to avenge a 66-63 loss that the Bulldogs (14-11, 8-7) handed them on Jan. 29. A win would improve the Pack's WAC road record to 7-0 and 9-2 overall.

Fresno State drained eight three-pointers in the last meeting, three by 6-foot-4 swingman Donovan Morris, two by the dangerous Ja'Vance Coleman and one each by center Mustafa Al-Sayyad, Kevin Bell and Dominique White.

Coleman has been hampered by an Achilles problem, but coach Ray Lopes said he will start and play considerable minutes. Coleman, a 6-3 sophomore, averages nearly 17 points a game. Al-Sayyad is scoring at a 12.5 clip and Morris is at 11.7.

"They have a couple of guys that shoot the ball," Nevada coach Mark Fox said. "They also have low-post presence (Al-Sayyad), so there are lots of ways for them to score.

"We didn't defend well enough (last time). We're a better team than we were a month ago. We just have more experience."

Fox said the reason for improved offense is execution, and that newer players like Ramon Sessions, Chad Bell and Mo Charlo are starting to feel more comfortable in scoring roles.

Lopes liked the intensity and energy his team showed on defense the last time, and he hopes for a repeat performance tonight.

"Nick (Fazekas) and Kevinn (Pinkney) got their numbers," Lopes said. "We did a good job on everybody else."

Pinkney and Fazekas combined for 39 of the 63. Freshman Ramon Sessions added nine points, but nobody else scored more than four.

Other than Mustafa, Lopes knows the Bulldogs don't match up well with Nevada. Mustafa, who hails from the Sudan, blocked 11 shots and grabbed nine rebounds in a 52-49 Bracket Buster loss to Buffalo last Saturday.

"He's a great shot blocker," Fox said of Al-Sayyad. "It (11 blocks) doesn't surprise me at all."

Lopes will try to use a combination of 6-6 Chris Berry and 6-7 Dreike Bouldin on the 6-11 Fazekas, who scored 23 and grabbed 10 rebounds the last time. At the other end, Fazekas will go up against Al-Sayyad, who outweighs Fazekas by 20 pounds but gives up three inches in height.

Either Jermaine Washington or Kyle Shiloh will get the task of containing the dangerous Coleman, whose left-handed dunk off an alley-oop pass a few weeks ago has made him a ESPN Sports Center hero.

"Kyle is playing very well," Fox said of his defensive specialist, who averages around 5 points a game.

The Bulldogs have dropped four of their last five, a trend Lopes hopes to turn around.

"I don't know if we've hit a wall, or teams are just starting to play better," he said. "I still haven't figured it out. We still have two weeks of basketball left and we have to play through it."

n Darrell Moody can be reached at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling (775) 881-1281