Dec. 22, 2004

Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. - Forward Kevin Pinkney posted game-highs with 18 points and 11 rebounds on Wednesday while center Nick Fazekas scored 14 points as Nevada pulled away in the second half to beat UC Davis 60-51 in a nonconference men's basketball game played before 1,189 fans at The Pavilion.

UC Davis fell to 4-6 with the defeat while Nevada - which advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 last season - improved to 7-3. Forward Phil Rasmussen hit four three-pointers and scored 17 points to lead the Aggies while forward Ryan Moore had 13 points. Thomas Juillerat had nine rebounds and four assists to lead UC Davis in both areas.

Nevada led by just two points, 20-18, at halftime but opened the second half with a 9-2 run to forge a 29-20 lead with 15 minutes, 46 seconds remaining. UC Davis got to within four points on three different occassions - the last time coming at 36-32 with 11:09 after a layup from Juillerat - but the Wolf Pack scored seven of the next nine points to re-open the lead to 43-34 with 7:43 to go.

UC Davis could not get closer than seven points the rest of the way as Nevada opened its biggest lead at 59-46 in the final seconds as the Aggies fouled down the stretch.

"The game in the second half was quicker than we wanted but when Nevada extended the lead we had to look for shots earlier in the shot clock," said Aggie coach Gary Stewart.

UC Davis led most of the game's first 10 minutes, jumping to leads of 9-4 and 12-6 in the opening minutes behind seven points from Rasmussen and five from Moore who each had three-pointers in that span. The Wolf Pack responded, though, with an 8-0 run of its own to take a 13-12 lead with 10:43 left in the half.

The teams were tied twice more - the last time coming at 18-18 with 4:01 to play - but neither squad could muster much offense in the half's closing minutes. A layup from Pinkney with 42 seconds left gave Nevada a 20-18 lead at the half. UC Davis shot just 28 percent (7 of 25) in the first half and 34 percent (17 of 50) for the game.

"We struggled to shoot the ball," said Stewart. "It's no secret we're perimeter-oriented. You have to credit Nevada. They got out and challenged shots all night. Conversely, we got some good looks but they didn't go down and that's going to happen some nights."

Pinkney made 7 of 8 shots from the floor and all four of his free throw attempts in scoring his 18 points. Five of his 11 boards came on the offensive end. Fazekas had six rebounds and a pair of blocked shots to go with his 14 points. Nevada was just 2 of 11 from three-point territory but held an 18-9 advantage on made free throws.

Rasmussen made 6 of 12 shots overall, including 4 of 7 from three-point. Guard Robert Ehsan scored 10 points for the Aggies, also hitting a pair of treys while also grabbing five rebounds. Moore was 6 of 13 from the field. UC Davis committed just 11 turnovers in the game and only trailed 31-27 on the boards to the bigger Wolf Pack.

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UC Davis Aggies Men's Basketball

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