Kraemer plays a key role for Pack

BY DARRELL MOODY

Appeal Sports Writer

RENO - Ray Kraemer said all the right things after Thursday night's win over San Jose State.

Kraemer scored a career-high 11 points, all of them coming in a 5 minute 12 second span of the second half, to help Nevada grab an 84-46 victory at Lawlor Events Center.

"I felt I could help the team out and play my role," Kraemer said. "I got in a good shooting rhythm and just hit the open shots."

Kraemer drained his first 3-pointer to make it 62-33 with 12:47 left. He knocked in his second bomb 77 seconds later which upped the lead to 65-35. He added another 3-pointer for a 74-38 margin and then scored on a lay-up for a 76-40 edge.

Kraemer averages 6.8 minutes a game, and he usually plays in short segments. It's possible he may get some more playing time with Nevada being forced to play five games in 10 days.

"I'm here and I want to help my team out," Kraemer said. "It doesn't matter if it's 30 seconds or 10 minutes. Whatever it is, I want to help my team out by playing good defense and keeping the offense going. I'm here to play and do what I have to do."

Kraemer wasn't the only reserve to play well.

Lyndale Burleson scored a season-high 10 points and dished out four assists in his 18 minutes of work. He went 4-for-6 from the floor, including 2-for-2 from beyond the arc.

GRAHAM RETURNS

San Jose State freshman guard Justin Graham played for the first time since fracturing his right elbow against Hawaii.

Graham played 16 minutes and scored four points. He will probably get more time Saturday at Utah State.

"He practiced (for the first time) on Wednesday," SJSU coach George Nessman said. "He's been out a month. We're hoping he's back at full strength by the time the WAC Tournament rolls around."

BALANCED SCORING

With eight WAC games and the BracketBuster remaining, San Jose State has a good opportunity to have all five starters average in double figures for the season.

Entering the Nevada game, Graham was at 12.2, Tim Pierce 10.8, DaShawn Wright 10.8, Chris Oakes 10.4 and C.J. Webster 10.4.

The last time the Spartans ended a season with five players averaging double figures was the 1974-75 season. The last time four SJSU players averaged double figures was the 1988-89 season.

SJSU BIGS FAIL

Webster and Oakes went a combined 13-for-20 and combined for 29 points in the Spartans' 62-60 win over Nevada earlier this season.

This time around, the duo went 5-for-13 and combined for 12 points. It was evident several times that the length of JaVale McGee bothered both payers.

FACTS & FIGURES

A reminder to Nevada fans that Saturday's game against Hawaii starts at 3 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2 ... The Utah State make-up game is set for Monday at 7 p.m., and fans can use the same ticket they had for the first game ... Marcelus Kemp has scored in double figures in 22 straight games this year and 84 times in his career. JaVale McGee and Brandon Fields have 18 and 15, respectively, this season ... Malik Cooke turned in a career-best 10 rebounds, making him the fourth Wolf Pack player this season to have a double-digit rebound game. McGee has five double-digit rebounding games ... Nevada has won 33 of its last 36 at home, including eight of the last nine .. Nevada has won seven of eight against SJSU since Fox took over the Nevada program.