Reno, NV – While Nevada fell to 2-8 on the season after suffering a 78-75 loss to visiting Arizona State, the Silver and Blue faithful in storm-ridden Reno got a taste of the electric abilities of junior forward Olek Czyz.  By simply playing his game, the Reno high grad who transferred from Duke mid-year and suited up for Nevada for the first time gave Wolf Pack fans everywhere hope for the WAC season ahead.

The Wolf Pack have gone through hell and back so far this season, playing a tough, road-heavy schedule with the youngest roster in the country.  But the fans at Lawlor Events Center tonight were treated to the future after the return of Czyz, whose played not only energized the team but turned the entire building up another notch.  Lawlor has not been that loud since the timeout after Luke Babbitt drilled two free throws in the semifinals of the WAC tournament this past March.

Most of it was due to Czyz, who made quite the Nevada debut.

Despite not being in the starting lineup, Czyz came in and provided the much needed spark that had been lacking on the Wolf Pack hoops team since the departure of Armon Johnson and Luke Babbitt. Considering this was a game that the Pack never had a lead in, they never gave up and showed a lot of resiliency, making it a tight game down the stretch.  At the final buzzer the systematic play of the Arizona State offense was too much to overcome.

“I thought we came out flat and played from behind and when you play from behind it’s tough to come back against the kind of team they have,” Nevada head coach David Carter said of the performance of his team.

Czyz was a force on both ends of the floor and should be a huge factor in the WAC this season

Leading the way for the Sun Devils was Rihards Kuksiks, who had 20 points and knocked down 4-of-6 from behind the arc. As a team Arizona State was 9-of-21 behind the arc, and their consistent drive and kick offense usually got an open look from behind the arc.  The Sun Devils controlled this game from opening tip, taking a 2-0 lead and always responding to a Wolf Pack run.

Following the layup and a Malik Story jumper that tied the game at two, Kuksiks hit back to back three pointers as the Sun Devils jumped out early.  Things changed for Nevada when Czyz stepped onto the floor with 16:10 to play in the first half.

Everyone talked about the energy that Olek would bring to this team, and frankly that was an understatement. Czyz might have been too amped up at the outset since he struggled out of the gates, but when the 6-foot-7, 240-pound versatile athlete hit his stride in the second half he was the best player on the floor.   Nevada has not had a stretch of basketball where they played that well, but when he Czyz took the floor in the second half the Pack flat-out played some basketball.

The story in the first half was the long ball.  During one first half stretch there were 14 consecutive points scored off three-point shots.  Jerry Evans missed his last free throw after getting fouled shooting a trey, but the Pack played to the Sun Devils strength.

The Sun Devils built a 33-26 halftime lead behind their strong shooting as they were 50 percent from downtown (6-of-12) in the first half, while the Pack shot a measly one-for-seven prior to intermission.

Arizona State came out of the half aggressive and made a decisive run.  The defensive scheme forced the Pack to settle for jumpers.  But Czyz then stepped into the limelight, knocking home a shot from downtown that started a big run that tightened the game up considerably.  Nevada played strong and cut the deficit to just one, 40-39, but Arizona State answered.  The Sun Devils made an 8-0 run to stretch the lead to nine.

Just as I was saying to our publisher, A.W. Prince, how well Nevada senior center Illiwa Baldwin was beginning to play, the eldest member of the Nevada team forced me to put my foot in my mouth.

A big play—-maybe the biggest in the entire game—-came off a technical foul on Baldwin. Although the game was fairly testy, with ASU playing physical basketball as they’ve done over the years under head coach Herb Sendek, Baldwin simply lost his cool.  After getting tied up while going up for a layup, Baldwin slammed the ball with two hands and let it bounce over his head in frustration.  That was despite the fact that Nevada never lost possession of the ball.

“Every possession counts…and that one cost us two points,” said Czyz of the technical while his coach was a little more serious about the severity of the foul.

“A 24-year-old has got to show more composure than that.  We still had possession and that foul made it a ten point game without them even having to play offense…considering that we lost by three that was a pretty big foul,” Coach Carter said of the impact of the technical foul.

It was the play of freshman Deontè Burton that once again ignited the Pack.  He had back to back steals, poking the ball away a senior ASU guard, and on the first steal drove the lane for what turned out to be the most exciting dunks we’ve seen in ages. On the play Czyz followed Burton to the basket and after the freshman missed Czyz was there for a flying rebound flush in full stride.  It was  a two-handed dunk that is sure to be an ESPN Sportscenter Top 10 play, with the native of Poland twisting off the rim as the slam. More importantly, the dunk cut the Sun Devil lead to five, 54-49, and gave Nevada the momentum.

Aside from his first few minutes on the court Czyz looked like he never missed a beat.  His ball fakes and passes were crisp, but it was his free throw shooting down the stretch that was indicative of the time he had missed after transferring from Duke.

With the score 56-51, Czyz had three consecutive empty trips to the free throw line before finally rolling one in.  That series was followed up with an “and-1″ foul on Sun Devil star Trent Lockett, who was limited most of the night with Czyz shadowing him, who converted the three-point-play.

Sophomore Malik Story was having a quiet night until he made some noise down the stretch.  It was his runner in the lane while getting fouled that made it a one-point game again with just 2:16 remaining.  But like a champ, it was the hot shooting of Arizona State that finished off the Pack.

The Sun Devils used back to back three pointers by Brandon Dunson and Ty Abbott to offset another Story three-pointer, and they won the game at the line after Story forced his next three point attempt.

Nevada did score 49 second half points—-the third time they have done that this season—-and though it wasn’t enough to win the game, they certainly appear to be a team that is improving and headed in the right direction.

Up next for the Pack will be their third consecutive home game as they prepare to face Portland State (6-3) on Monday night at 7:30 PM.  The Vikings will be coming off an inner-city battle with the Portland Pilots in a game that will determine bragging rights.