Fazekas will not play against Hawai'i

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Despite a sprained ankle, Nick Fazekas was walking comfortably around The Event Center Thursday night, and that's a good sign.

Fazekas' 114-game playing streak ended, but the 15th-ranked Pack managed to scrape out a 72-63 win over San Jose State.

Nevada coach Mark Fox said that Fazekas would not play Saturday night against Hawai'i.

"It's a slow recovery," Fox said. "We'll re-evaluate early next week. He was able to walk today. The (left) ankle is still swollen. He went to Stanford today and got some treatment, and he's getting treatment now. He's working hard at getting ready."

A best-case scenario might have Fazekas ready for the game at New Mexico State. Any game action before that might be considered a minor miracle.

His replacements were a tad inconsistent.

David Ellis scored two points and pulled down five rebounds before fouling out, and Matt LaGrone grabbed two rebounds but didn't score after missing all three of his free-throw attempts.

WHO CAN MAKE TREYS

The difference in the game came down to 3-point shooting, which is Nevada's strong suit.

Nevada knocked down 12 of 19, as Marcelus Kemp went 5-for-7, Denis Ikovlev went 2-for-4, Kyle Shiloh 2-for-4 and Ramon Sessions 2-for-2.

Conversely, Julian Richardson went 0-for-5 and Jamon Hill went 1-for-4.

"We're an inconsistent shooting team," SJSU coach George Nessman said. "I think we had some good looks that we just couldn't knock down."

BEST START IN HISTORY

Nevada's 15-1 record is the best start in school history, surpassing the 14-2 mark turned in by the 1951-52 team.

After winning its first 14 games of the season, the team dropped its next two games and finished with a 19-3 record.

AROUND THE WAC

New Mexico State and Nevada are 3-0 in conference play after escaping Idaho with a 61-56 win over the Vandals.

Fresno State, 2-0, was at Hawai'i in a key early season match-up. Louisiana Tech was knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten, suffering an 82-56 loss to Boise State. The Broncos, obviously, were still smarting from their loss to the Pack.

TAKING ON BIG BOYS

The game against Nevada was San Jose State's second in its last four outings that it has played a ranked team.

Duke, ranked fifth at the time, beat San Jose State 70-51 on Dec. 31.

The last time SJSU faced two top-20 teams within a four-game span was in the 1982-83 season.

The Spartans lost a 94-73 decision to then fifth-ranked UCLA on Dec. 11, and then lost to Tennessee, 50-42, in the Las Vegas Holiday Classic on Dec. 28.

NOTABLES

San Jose State turned the ball over 10 times, its second-lowest total of the season ... San Jose still leads tha all-time series against Nevada 46-39 ... San Jose State played without forwards Tim Pierce and Kerry Wooldridge, though the Spartans still came within four rebounds of Nevada (36-32)... There were a total of 11 dead-ball rebounds (the ball going off a player out of bounds) between the teams.

Contact Darrell Moody at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1281