Reno, NV – The Nevada Wolf Pack (8-13, 5-3) extended their winning streak to four games by defeating the Fresno State Bulldogs 79-76 at the Lawlor Center on Thursday night, thanks in large part to Dario Hunt’s impressive 24 point, 11 rebound double-double.  For Fresno State (8-11, 3-5), they also extended a streak of sorts.  The Bulldogs lost their fifth straight conference game, which came on the heels of a perfect 3-0 start in WAC play, including a win over Nevada back on Jan. 3rd.

This certainly isn’t the same Nevada team that Fresno State beat at the Save Mart Center just after New Years Day.

The Pack defended their home court by taking all three games of the homestand, with freshman Deonte Burton, the reigning WAC Player of the Week, adding 17 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists for the winning team.

“It’s big for us, guys feed off the energy and the fan support has been great,” Nevada head coach David Carter said following the finale of the homestand.  “I think we can still play better.”

As the homestand started, Nevada arrived with a bit more confidence than they had at any point of the 2010-11 season.  They had snapped a winless streak away from Lawlor Events Center that had run itself to double-digits by beating Boise State, 69-67.  That lift appeared to be all they needed, as they topped New Mexico State, Louisiana Tech and Fresno State for their fourth win in a dozen days.

As all fans can see, Nevada is a young club—-playing without any seniors now—-that is growing up on the floor.

The Pack lost the tip for the first time during their winning streak, and Fresno State wasted no time getting on the board scoring on their first possession.  After the basket the Bulldogs came out in a full-court press trying to force the Burton and the Pack into mistakes.

Hunt was jamming most of the night on the 'Dogs. (Photo by Mark Rauh of SilverandBlueSports.com)

Nevada stayed aggressive though despite the pressure and took a 10-6 lead following consecutive three pointers by Burton and junior Olek Czyz.  The Bulldogs would counter by hitting consecutive treys; one being a dagger as the shot clock expired by Tim Steed, who scored a game-high and a career-high 26 points, but the Pack would tie things up at 12 on a put back by Hunt.

Things were tight early on with the key match-up before the game proving to be right on.  Hunt and Greg Smith, the reigning WAC Freshman of the Year, would be going toe-to-toe most of the night.  Both were key contributors for their teams early on, and were the go-to-guys when their teams needed them during droughts.  They are two of the premier post players in the WAC this season, and could be next year as well.

“You always want to come out and have a good game. You always want to bring it with someone like that,” Hunt said of the challenge presented in playing against Smith.

The Pack used some savvy play to go on a 7-0 run that extended their lead to 21-15, but that streak ended when Nevada sent Fresno into the bonus with a loose ball foul on Garrett Johnson.  During the run it was solid defensive play and offensive hustle that pushed the Pack out to the early lead.

However, Nevada never trailed following the seven point run.

On one play during the run Hunt got a defensive rebound, threw the outlet, and raced up floor to pick up an offensive rebound but had to throw it off the Fresno player in front of him as he was falling down.  Heads up hustle plays are usually the difference between two evenly matched teams and that was a battle the Pack were winning most of the night.

Nevada used offensive hustle to take a 30-19 lead when Hunt slammed home a rebound as it was bouncing on the rim, which sent the fans at the LEC crazy during a timeout with 5:30 left in the first half.

Fresno State used a strong run to end the half, cutting into an eleven point deficit to make it a 39-33 game at halftime.  The Bulldogs went into a zone to close the gap down the stretch, and would go on to do the same thing later on to make the game interesting.

Hunt led the way at intermission with 15 points and five rebounds, while Burton had 10 points and two assists. It was a 22-7 rebounding advantage that allowed the Pack to maintain control in the first half, but usually a rebounding advantage like that is represented by a larger lead.  Fresno State trailed by just a half-dozen points.

The Bulldogs got the ball to start the second half and after back to back baskets from Smith, the Pack lead was down to two.  But Nevada responded.  Czyz got free on the baseline and threw down a slam, after which the Nevada student section was heard chanting, “You got Czyzed on.”

The Pack used a Hunt layup and free throws from sophomore Malik Story to extend their lead to 46-39, but it remained a two possession game following a Bulldog free throw that made 46-40.  Then, Fresno stole the ball and Steed raced down the floor for the layup that made it 46-42.

For the second straight game, Burris was a big factor in the win. (Photo by Mark Rauh of SilverandBlueSports.com)

But like they did throughout the game, the Pack stuck to the game plan and continued to grind away with each possession. Fresno State played like a team who desperately wanted a win, and they also carried a bit of a swagger knowing they had already beat Nevada earlier this season.  Nevada found ways to break that confidence and rebuild their lead.  In fact, they pushed the lead back to double digits when Story hit Hunt for an alley-oop layup that made it 53-42.

The Bulldogs attempt at a comeback took a serious blow when they lost starting senior forward Nedeljko Golubovic to fouls after he got whistled on a very careless reach in following a Hunt rebound.  Fresno State had to play the final ten minutes without one of their most experienced players.

Without him, the Bulldogs would have an even harder time stopping Hunt, and Hunt knew it.  A layup by the Pack’s top post player pushed the Pack lead back to double digits with a 63-53 lead.  Freshman Jordan Burris would trade threes with Steed as Nevada took a 66-56 lead into a timeout with 6:26 left to play.

With Hunt on the bench the Bulldogs were able to shoot themselves back into the game again.  Fresno State hit back-to-back threes to cut the ten point lead down to four, going into the zone once again to stymie the Pack.  They trailed just 68-64, and Coach Carter was forced to call a timeout and get Hunt back into the game.

“We definitely need to keep our foot on the pedal with a lead like that,” Hunt said of the swing in momentum.

His coach thought it was a defensive problem.

“We stayed in zone too long and and we probably should have come out of the zone earlier,” Carter added.

From there the Pack used a Story layup and a free throw to take a 71-64 lead before Kevin Olekaibe hit a pair of free throws with 51.9 seconds left to make it a 71-66 game.  Burton was immediately fouled on the in-bound pass and would hit one of two from the line to make it a two possession game with 49.6 seconds remaining.

Steed hit a three pointer for Fresno State with 44 seconds left to make it a 72-69 lead, and the Bulldogs stopped the clock again with another TO.  Again, the Pack inbounded to Burton and the freshman made one of two to make it 73-69.

This time Steed up-faked a three and took it to the hoop.  It appeared as though Story got a piece of the ball on the layup as Steed was left looking to the refs for a whistle.  It never came.

Hunt made one of two to make it 74-69.  After Smith hit a pair of free throws, the Bulldogs were down just 74-71. Burton found his way to the line after that, and this time the Los Angeles native would make both shots.  After two more free throws from Burton, the Pack had a 78-73 lead.

Steed had a career-night against Nevada, scoring 26 points. (Photo by Mark Rauh of SilverandBlueSports.com)

But Fresno State would get one last chance to tie. Steed converted another three to make the score 78-76 with 6.2 seconds left.  Burton was sent to the line again, and though he had appeared in a pretty good rhythm, he missed the second attempt short to give Fresno State one last chance, down three, with the ball.

That miss led to a frantic final possession, with Steed, a Philly native and the player of the game noted by the announcers who scored 20 points for only the second time in his career—-both somehow coming against Nevada—-grabbing the rebound and racing up the floor with Burton guarding him step for step.

After going 5-for-5 from beyond the arc to that point, Steed, who had only hit 6 trey’s all season to that point, pulled a “Brotzman” and missed a three pointer wide left as the buzzer sounded to give Nevada a hard fought 79-76 victory.

Up next for the Pack is arguably the toughest game left on their regular season schedule, as they’ll travel to Logan to face the red-hot and No. 25 ranked Utah State (18-2, 8-0).  The Aggies defeated the Pack 81-67 on January 8^th and are currently unbeaten in conference play.  Utah State defeated San Jose State by nineteen points tonight on the road and will look to end the Pack’s four-game winning streak.