Wolf Pack Rally for Win Over Boise State

RENO, Nev. (AP) _ Boise State was primed for an upset, holding a four-point lead with just over 2 minutes left and Nevada's star forward Nick Fazekas on crutches. <br/><br/>But Kyle Shiloh hit a key

Tuesday, January 9th 2007, 6:28 am

By: News On 6

RENO, Nev. (AP) _ Boise State was primed for an upset, holding a four-point lead with just over 2 minutes left and Nevada's star forward Nick Fazekas on crutches.

But Kyle Shiloh hit a key 3-pointer to spark a 9-0 run down the stretch as the 19th-ranked Wolf Pack rallied for a 90-86 victory over the Broncos in the Western Athletic Conference on Monday night.

Marcelus Kemp led Nevada with 27 points and Ramon Sessions added 21 in the only Top 25 game of the night.

``It was a good chance to get them with the big fellow out, but the other guys can play and that is why they are so good,'' Boise State coach Greg Graham said. ``They know how to play, they don't get rattled and they win close games.''

Sessions made 13-of-16 free throws and grabbed eight rebounds and Kemp made 10-of-20 from the field for the Wolf Pack (14-1, 2-0 in the WAC), who have equaled their best start since 1951-52.

Reggie Larry and Coby Karl _ son of longtime NBA coach George Karl _ each had 22 points for Boise State (7-6, 1-1 WAC), which had opened an 81-77 lead on Larry's three-point play with 3:20 remaining. Matt Nelson added 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Broncos.

Fazekas, a 6-foot-11 senior who is one of only five players in WAC history to log 2,000 points and 1,000 rebounds, had 14 points and nine rebounds before being helped off the court with an injury to his left ankle just before the half. He returned to the bench on crutches with about 7 minutes left in the game.

``With Nick out of the game, we had to find a way to score,'' said Shiloh, a senior guard who finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

``We've got a lot of experience on this team, with Marcelus and me and Ramon all coming back from last year. We know what to do. That's why they call it a team,'' he said.

Nevada coach Mark Fox said he didn't know if Fazekas would play the Wolf Pack's next game at San Jose State Thursday night.

``He's just hurt. That's all I know,'' he said after the game.

Fox said he couldn't say enough about his team's performance.

``This is a great win,'' Fox said. ``And to win with Nick sitting out hurt _ as a coach, that's your greatest fear a guy like that would get hurt.''

But ``they have a great competitive spirit, this team. I told the kids during a time out `Nick has carried us a lot. You guys owe him one.' They were able to rally and make some great plays late,'' Fox said.

``Kyle Shiloh is a tough son of a gun and made a big basket. David Ellis made one as well. I'm just proud of these kids.''

Trailing 81-77, Shiloh scored inside and then hit a 3-pointer to put Nevada back in front 82-81 at 2:03. David Ellis scored on an inbounds play, and Denis Ikovlev and Sessions each made 1 of 2 free throws to push the lead to 86-81 with 33 seconds left.

Karl then scored in the lane to cut it to 86-83. Kemp made two free throws, but Karl made a 3-point goal to make it 88-86 with 17 seconds remaining.

After Shiloh made another free throw for an 89-86 lead, Karl had a chance to tie it, but missed a 3-pointer with 6 seconds left. Larry got the rebound and tried to put it back, but Ellis blocked the shot and Shiloh added one final free throw with 0.7 on the clock.

``Coby hit some big shots and I thought we played well. But we missed some big plays toward the end,'' Graham said.

Leading 49-40 at the half, Kemp scored Nevada's first six points of the second half to go ahead 55-45. Boise State followed with an 11-5 run capped by Eric Lane's 3-pointer, and after Sessions scored inside, Karl hit back-to-back 3-pointers to pull within 63-61 with 11:40 left.

Sessions capped 11 straight points for Nevada with a pair of free throws and Kemp followed a 3-pointer with a basket in the lane to extend the lead to 73-65 with 7 minutes left. But Lane nailed a pair of 3s and Matt Bauscher added another to put the Broncos ahead 74-73 at 5:46 to make for the exciting finish.

``That was a very, very hard fought game,'' Fox said.

``It was a real battle. Both teams played extremely hard. We were fortunate that we made the plays in the last 4 minutes,'' he said.

Fox said Boise State is a hard team to defend.

``And we were really disappointed in our defense most of the night. Finally, late in the game we were able to get some stops,'' he said.

Bauscher and Karl made consecutive 3-pointers to put Boise State ahead 21-15 midway through the first half. But Nevada responded with an 18-2 run _ including two 3-point goals from the top of the key by Fazekas and one each by Tyrone Hanson and Lyndale Burleson _ to go ahead 33-23 at 5:42.

Larry scored off a rebound to end the Broncos 3 1/2-minute scoreless stretch, but Kemp scored seven in a row for the Wolf Pack to make it 40-27. Nelson had four baskets in a row for Boise State and 12 in the final 5:25 of the half to help cut the lead to 49-40 at halftime.