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Kemp scores 27; Fazekas leaves with ankle injury in Nevada victory

Jan 9, 2007 - 6:08 AM RENO, Nevada (Ticker) -- Marcelus Kemp didn't let an ankle injury to star Nick Fazekas slow down Nevada.

Kemp scored 27 points and Ramon Sessions added 21 as the 15th-ranked Wolf Pack edged Boise State, 90-86, in a Western Athletic Conference contest.

Although Nevada (14-1, 2-0 WAC) won its seventh straight game, Fazekas, the two-time conference player of the year, left with an injured left ankle 53 seconds before halftime. He did not return.

The Wolf Pack had a 49-40 lead at the break and were able to hold off the Broncos behind Kemp's 14 second-half points.

"It was a hard-fought game," Nevada coach Mark Fox said. "It was a real battle; both teams played extremely hard. This is a great win and to win with Nick sitting out hurt. The character of the team is defined when they go to school everyday and are good people."

Kemp shot 10-of-20 from the floor, Sessions was 13-of-16 from the foul line and Fazekas finished with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting and nine rebounds in 15 minutes. He entered averaging 20.8 points and 12.3 rebounds.

"Kemp and Sessions did a great job in the second half and that's what makes them such a good team," Boise State coach Greg Graham said.

Coby Karl scored 22 points on 9-of-15 for Boise State. He knocked down 4-of-7 shots from the arc, grabbed eight rebounds and handed out five assists.

"It was a tough loss and would have been great to get," Graham said. "Coby hit some big shots and I thought we played well enough but we missed some big plays towards the end."

Reggie Larry had 22 points and Matt Nelson had 19 and 13 rebounds for the Broncos (7-6, 1-1), who shot 48 percent (33-of-69), including 10-of-21 from the arc, but converted just 10-of-20 free throws.