Fazekas was down, but not out

RENO - Nick Fazekas is always the main focus of the opposition's defense every game, and Monday night was no exception.

Louisiana Tech, much of the time when Fazekas was in the middle or down on the block, would put a guard in front of the 6-11 Nevada star and Paul Millsap behind him. Simply put, the Bulldogs were going to let somebody else other than Fazekas beat them this time around.

Except for Marcelus Kemp, who was a dismal 3-for-13, and Fazekas, it seemed that Louisiana Tech dared Kyle Shiloh, Ramon Sessions, Mo Charlo and Lyndale Burleson to shoot from the outside. That quartet was a combined 9-for-27, and that's certainly not good enough to loosen up the defense around Fazekas.

"We wanted to try something different defensively," Tech's Keith Richard said after Nevada's 50-49 win Monday night at Lawlor Events Center. "It was a different way of playing to give ourselves a chance on the road. They've (Nevada) seen a lot of different defenses."

Tech sagged on Fazekas back on March 2, but that was mainly in the first half. Fazekas scored 17 second-half points to lead Nevada to a 65-53 victory.

"They (Tech) did play him differently," Fox admitted. "Boise State played him that way, and we adjusted to it the second half."

Fazekas scored all 12 of his points in the second half, but four of those points came on putbacks, including the game-winner with 1.3 left in the game. His 4-for-14 effort from the field was his worst since he went 2-for-9 against UNLV, and he was still battling food poisoning during that game.

"Nick had a frustrating night, but he made the play when it counted," Fox said. "It wasn't one of his better nights. He defended well and rebounded well (15)."

One has to wonder if the Pack's offensive woes can be traced to an off night shooting the ball, or are teams around the WAC starting to figure out Nevada's offense? At first glance, it doesn't seem like Nevada has changed much in the past three years.

Coaches around the league have praised the Pack's half-court execution, but it seemed Monday that shots were forced or put up too early in the shot clock when the game was in the final three or four minutes.

MILLSAP VS, FAZEKAS

Monday's showdown was billed as a battle between the top two Player of the Year candidates, but neither played their best games.

Fazekas finished with 12 points and 15 rebounds, and Millsap scored 16 and pulled down 11 rebounds. Fazekas was 4-for-14 from the field compared to 6-for-15 for Millsap. It was a tale of two halves. Millsap won the first half and Fazekas the second.

"Player of the Year is something people talk about," Fazekas said. "People don't remember the Player of the Year. They remember the banner hanging in the gym (arena)."

Fazekas admitted winning the award would be nice, but he'd much rather have another banner for winning the WAC and reaching the NCAAs for future players and fans to look at.

AHEAD OF PACE

The win last night means that this year's team, which is on a six-game winning streak, is matching the pace set by last year's team which also was 19-5 through its first 24 games. Nevada is three games ahead of the pace set by the 2003-04 squad that was 16-8 through its first 24 games and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in school history.

Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling (775) 881-1281