Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Nevada
Nevada Runs Past Men's Basketball 92-79
2/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2003
RENO, Nev. - Garry Hill-Thomas scored 26 points and led four Nevada players in double figures as the Wolf Pack defeated Fresno State 92-79 on Saturday night.
Terrance Green added 21 for Nevada (11-8, 6-3 Western Athletic Conference). Todd Okeson had 14 and Jerry Petty 12 for Nevada, which held off a furious Bulldog run in the final minutes.
Damon Jackson led Fresno State (15-4, 8-2) with 21 points, and Hiram Fuller had 18 points and 15 rebounds.
The victory moves Nevada within 1.5 games of the first place Bulldogs in the Western Athletic Conference.
"We played poorly," said Fresno State head coach Ray Lopes. "Our defense was horrible. We got off to a good start. Then offensively we let them back in because we started making bad decisions and rushing shots. And once they started hitting shots, our defense was soft. Seventy-nine points is enough to win a basketball game. Giving up 92 points, you don't deserve to win."
Nevada built a 21-point lead with 7:21 remaining, and Hill-Thomas capped a 24-8 run with a pair of free throws to give the Wolf Pack a 77-56 lead.
The game was then delayed for 19 minutes after a Nevada cheerleader was injured. Cheerleader Kaitlyn Avello was taken off the court on a stretcher by emergency medical technicians and transported to a Reno hospital for observation.
Both teams were sent to their locker rooms during the delay, and when play resumed, Fresno State cut the lead to 10 at 83-73 with 3:24 to play on a basket by Terry Pettis.
But Nevada hit 10 of 12 free throws down the stretch to seal the victory. For the game, Nevada hit a whopping 34 of 47 free throws, while Fresno State managed 14 of 27.
Kirk Snyder, Nevada's leading scorer this season, fouled out with 9:03 to play in the game and finished with eight points, the first time this season he failed to reach double figures.
The Wolf Pack's 92 points were the most scored against Fresno State this year. The Bulldogs entered the game with a WAC-best 63.2 scoring average.
