Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Nevada
Bulldogs Fall To Wolf Pack, 74-61
1/21/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
RENO, Nev. - Sophomore Tyler Johnson tied a career-high with a team-best 17 points and pulled down eight rebounds in Fresno State's 74-61 road loss to first-place Nevada on Saturday night in Reno.
"Give (Nevada) credit - they made shots," head coach Rodney Terry said. "Tyler (Johnson) was really, really good tonight. He had a tough assignment guarding (Nevada's Malik) Story to start the game, but he came back and played smart after picking up two quick fouls."
Fresno State dictated the pace early on and delivered a series of solid offensive possessions for a 15-4 run to open the game, but after the Bulldogs extended the lead to 18-8, Nevada responded with 10 straight points to tie it at 18-18 and the Pack led 32-30 at halftime.
"I told the guys we were going to be in attack mode right from the start," Terry said. "We got pressure on the basket and our effort was great. We had some empty possessions after a good start, but we definitely competed our tail off."
Despite Nevada having a size and depth advantage, the Bulldogs won the offensive rebounding battle with a 13-11 edge over the Pack. Yet, it was Deonte Burton's 18 points and Story who added 17 to fuel a more assertive performance by Nevada in the second half.
"We were pretty physical on our block outs," Terry noted. "We held our own in the rebounding department."
One of the big differences, though, was Nevada's ability to get to the free throw line and force the Bulldogs' seven-man rotation to play in foul trouble for nearly the entire night.
With both teams combining to shoot 17-for-17 at the charity stripe during the first half, Nevada clearly owned the foul advantage, with 12 more free throw attempts than the 'Dogs - who were whistled for 10 more fouls than the Pack.
Dario Hunt added 13 points and 11 rebounds for the Wolf Pack (16-3, 5-0 Western Athletic), who won their 13th consecutive game, by outscoring the Bulldogs by 11 in the final 20 minutes for the 13-point victory.
Johnson's 17 headlined three Bulldogs (9-12, 1-4) in double figures through the net. Jerry Brown tallied 14 points and nine rebounds and Kevin Olekaibe scored 13 for his 17th double-digit scoring effort of the season.
"We are always going to compete to win," Terry added of the 'Dogs approach to every game. "It's a quick turnaround. Our focus is now on Thursday night and that preparation starts tonight."
Fresno State continues its three-game WAC road stretch on Thursday at Louisiana Tech, who is promoting the "Battle for the Bone" as a "White Out" game. As always though, Fresno State will wear its Bulldog red.
"We Are Your Team!" --- Fresno State is set to make its final visits as a member of the Western Athletic Conference to Louisiana Tech on Thursday and New Mexico State on Saturday. Both conference contests will be featured on the WAC Sports Network (KAIL 7.1/53/Comcast Cable 13) and KMJ 580 AM. Be sure to also follow Coach @RodneyTerry on Twitter for updates from the road.
