Lackluster win for Wolf Pack

RENO - It was the Valentine's Day equivalent of receiving gifts of a half-eaten box of stale chocolates and a dozen wilted roses.

But the Nevada Wolf Pack will take it just the same.

"A win's a win," senior center Dario Hunt said after an uninspired 61-47 Wolf Pack victory over the upset-minded Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners Tuesday night at Lawlor Events Center. "I'll take that every time."

The Wolf Pack, now 22-4, also seemed to take the Roadrunners (13-14) too lightly.

"We came out a little flat," said senior Olek Czyz, who scored a game-high 16 points.

"We were lethargic on offense," Pack coach David Carter said.

Flat and lethargic, luckily for the Wolf Pack, is better than non-existent. The Roadrunners' offense almost literally disappeared in the final 12 minutes. Bakersfield scored just eight points in the final 12:08 after taking a 39-33 lead. The Roadrunners turned the ball over an alarming 10 times in the final 12:08 and were just 1-of-12 from the floor.

"We just picked up our defense," said Wolf Pack backup point guard Keith Fuetsch, who played 11 minutes after not stepping on the floor at all the past four games.

With starting point guard Deonte Burton on the bench with four fouls, Fuetsch had a steal and a lay-up for a 44-41 Pack lead with 7:03 to play, a free throw for a 46-41 lead with 6:24 to go and a steal and an assist on a dunk by Malik Story for a 50-43 lead with 4:55 left.

"After I came in (with Bakersfield leading 39-37 with nine minutes to play) we got a couple stops off the bat, the crowd got into it and everything kind of snowballed and flowed from there," Fuetsch said.

The Pack outscored the Roadrunners 28-8 over the final 12:08.

"That was huge for us to have a guy come off the bench and give us a lift," said Czyz of Fuetsch.

Fuetsch had three points, two steals and an assist.

"We needed a spark," Carter said. "I'm not sure without his play that we would have made that run."

Jordan Burris also gave the Pack a lift off the bench with 11 points, four rebounds and three steals in 18 minutes.

"We always tell the guys, 'You have to be ready when your number is called,'" Carter said.

Fuetsch's 11 minutes was the most he has played in a game since he was on the floor for 12 minutes in a 78-60 win over Portland on Dec. 22.

"You just have to be ready every single game," Fuetsch said. "That's what a team is for. Everybody has to contribute."

Czyz, who scored 27 points in a 76-70 win at San Jose State last Saturday, scored in the lane for a 48-43 Pack lead with 5:24 to play. He also had a free throw for a 51-43 lead with four minutes left and a jumper for a 53-45 lead with 3:42 to go.

"We just picked up our energy level after that first half," said Czyz, referring to the Pack's 28-27 deficit at the break.

Bakersfield didn't even score over the final 3:26, missing its final seven shots. The Roadrunners shot just 30 % (15-of-50) for the game and misfired on all 11 of their second-half 3-point attempts (4-of-21 for the game).

"Our defensive effort was sort of there the whole night," Carter said.

The Pack won the game at the free throw line, converting 18-of-23 free throws in the second half and 23-of-29 for the game. The Pack actually went 10 minutes without a successful field goal during one stretch in the second half but were able to stay in the game because of nine free throws.

"We had some easy looks, especially in the beginning of the game, but we just missed them," said Hunt, who had 10 points and 14 rebounds. "We forced stuff a little too much but we also had a lot of easy looks. We just didn't make the shots."

Carter blamed it on a lack of Wolf Pack energy.

"They (Bakersfield) were the more aggressive team," Carter said. "They were beating us to our spots on offense."

There was no lack of Pack effort on defense, especially in the final dozen minutes.

"We challenged their shots better," Carter said. "In the first half they were coming off screens easily but in the second half we were able to push them out a little farther."

The Wolf Pack will play just two games (Saturday at Iona and Feb. 25 at Fresno State) before returning home to face New Mexico State on March 1.

"We're still a young team," said Carter, explaining the Pack's lackluster performance on Tuesday. "Most of our guys are just in their second year of Division I basketball. We know how to win, we know how to win close games. But the next level of maturity we need to get to is learning how to play at a high level from start to finish in every game."