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Kemp, Fazekas lead Nevada over Idaho

Jan 7, 2007 - 7:38 AM RENO, Nevada (Ticker) -- Nevada got off to a fast start in its quest for a fourth straight league championship.

Marcelus Kemp scored 22 points and Nick Fazekas added 19 as No. 15 Nevada rolled to an 81-55 victory over Idaho in a Western Athletic Conference matchup.

Nevada (13-1, 1-0 WAC) never was challenged in this one, using a 21-5 run in the first half to build a 21-point lead on the way to a 46-28 advantage at the break.

"I'm pleased we were able to win a basketball game," Nevada coach Mark Fox. "We played fairly sharp in the first half."

Kemp was 8-of-13 from the field while Fazekas, the two-time reigning WAC Player of the Year, finished 7-of-8 to help the Wolf Pack shoot 57 percent (30-of-53) overall.

"We got our first win in WAC play," said Kemp, who had his seventh 20-point game of the season. "Any win is a good win."

Fazekas, the school's all-time leading scorer, also grabbed 11 rebounds for his 11th double-double as Nevada won its sixth straight game. The Wolf Pack hadn't played since beating Gonzaga, 82-74, last Saturday.

"We weren't worried about coming out flat," Fazekas said. "We played well. We played Idaho tough and this was a good way to start conference play."

Keoni Watson scored 19 points for Idaho (2-12, 0-2), which shot 31 percent (19-of-61) in losing for the 11th time in 12 games.

"Watson is a really good player," Fox said. "We didn't do a good job on him but we were able to slow some other guys down."