Fazekas passes Paggett

MOSCOW, Idaho - Nick Fazekas moved upwards on three of Nevada's all-time lists - scoring, rebounding and free throws made - after a 26-point, 15-rebound effort in a 74-68 win over Idaho Monday afternoon at the Cowan Spectrum.

Fazekas, whose 26 points give him 1,652, passed Pete Padgett (1,642) on a putback with 9:31 left in the game, and he passed Terrance Green (1,646) with a three-point play with 3:24 remaining.

Alex Boyd is currently No. 2 on the list, and Fazekas trails him by 85 points with three regular-season games plus at least the WAC Tournament left.

The 6-11 junior knocked down 8-for-9 at the line to give him 387 in his career, surpassing Kevin Soares and Boyd to move into fifth place all time. Fazekas trails Padgett by 15 free throws with three regular-season games plus the WAC tournament and possibly NCAA Tournament still to come.

The 15 rebounds moved Fazekas to fifth all time with 819. The Nevada star moved past Ric Herrin, who had 815. Fazekas needs 71 to catch Nap Montgomery.

Fazekas isn't really about numbers and records. He's more into wins. He's starting what will probably be his last four weeks in a Nevada uniform, and he'd love Nevada to go deep into this year's NCAA Tournament.

"It's nice to have your name in the record book," Fazekas said. "It's something special."

Even if Fazekas wasn't excited about his accomplishments, Nevada coach Mark Fox was.

"Those are pretty good numbers for three years," Fox said. "Nick has been a terrific player for us. He's having a nice career.

"Pete (Padgett) was a great player. I know Pete. He (Nick) should be proud of that."

What's impressive is that Fazekas is No. 3 after playing 92 games. Padgett played 104 games and Green played 119. Boyd only needed 73 games for his 1,731 points.

MORE FAZEKAS

The Nevada star has 13 double-doubles this season and 36 in his career, and he has 25 double-digit scoring games this season and 77 in his career.

The 26-point game marked the 17th time he's scored 20 or more in a game and the 41st time in his career.

BACK IN THE POLL

Nevada moved into the Associated Press Top 25 following its wins over Louisiana Tech (50-49) last Monday and Friday's 88-61 thrashing of Mid-American power Akron.

Nevada was in the AP poll from the last two weeks of November until the day after Christmas. The Pack has been receiving votes in the AP poll the past seven weeks.

The Pack is still receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today poll, but has yet to get back into the top 25. The Pack was in the ESPN poll the entire month of December.

FACTS & FIGURES

After knocking down 12 of 19 from beyond the arc, Nevada hit a paltry 3-for-9 on Monday, one each by Kyle Shiloh, Mo Charlo and Marcelus Kemp ... Nevada hit more than 50 percent from the field (51.1) for the fourth time in five games ... The combination of Fazekas, Shiloh, Sessions, Kemp and Demarshay Johnson is 8-0 ... Nevada is 16-2 when outrebounding its opponent and 4-3 when it is outrebounded ... Nevada is now 12-4 in games decided by 10 points or less ... Nevada is 9-3 in road games this year, a fact that will be important when it comes time to the NCAA Tournament ... Lyndale Burleson had his most ineffective game of the season, playing four minutes and committing four fouls and turning the ball over once ... Idaho is now 0-18 when trailing at the half ... The Vandals are 0-15 when being outrebounded... Brett Ledbetter scored 16 points, including 4-for-8 from beyond the 3-point arc, falling one short of his career high set against Boise State earlier this year.

UP NEXT

Nevada's next opponent is Utah State Saturday in Logan, Utah. The Aggies knocked off Nevada 59-53 on Jan. 23.

Beating USU at home is no easy task. Entering the season, USU was 98-9 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The Aggies only WAC loss at home this year was to New Mexico State on Feb. 11.

The game Saturday is part of a men's and women's doubleheader. The women's game starts at 3:30 p.m. locally and the men's game starts at 6 p.m. locally.

Both games are expected to be aired on ESPN 630 AM.

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