Nevada Gets By NMSU

Marcelus Kemp scored 21 of his 32 points in the second half and Nick Fazekas added 22 points and nine rebounds to lead No. 10 Nevada to a 69-65 victory over New Mexico State on Saturday night.

Kemp was 9-for-17 from the field and 12-for-13 on free throws, including four in a row after a foul and technical foul that gave Nevada a 50-47 lead midway through the second half that it didn't relinquish.

The Wolf Pack (27-3, 14-2 in the Western Athletic Conference) pushed their home record to 60-6 since the start of the 2003-04 season while claiming their fourth straight WAC regular-season title with four consecutive seasons of 25 or more victories.

Tyrone Nelson scored 15 points, Elijah Ingram 13 and Ted Knauber 12 for New Mexico State (22-8, 11-5 WAC), which trailed 21-15 early but closed the first half with an 11-4 run to take a 31-28 halftime lead before a sellout crowd of 11,462.

Nelson scored six points in a row, including a 19-footer to put the Aggies ahead 47-46 with 10:39 left in the game. But on the next possession, Shaun Davis fouled Kemp, was called for a technical when he complained and Kemp made all four free throws for the three-point lead with 10:17 left in the game.

Kemp then made a 3-pointer and Fazekas a pair of free throws for a 54-49 lead. Ingram answered with a 3 to pull New Mexico State to 54-52, and after Kyle Shiloh's basket off a behind-the-back dribble on a break, Nelson converted a 3-point play to get to 56-55 at 7:12.

Kemp was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws to put Nevada ahead 59-55 with 6:56 left.

Ingram went the length of the floor for a layup to make it 64-61 at 1:20. Knauber made a basket and was fouled, but couldn't convert the free throw to leave it 65-63 with 28 seconds. Kemp and Fazekas each made a pair of free throws down the stretch to seal the win.