Men's Basketball | Zags get the table turned on them

They say if you hang around long enough, the euphoria and depression of sports will find a way to cancel each other.

Sometimes all it takes is a year.

Last year, in Gonzaga's "Battle in Seattle" game against Oklahoma State, Adam Morrison threw up a banked three-pointer to down the Cowboys.

Twelve months and a couple of weeks later, Nevada rendered the same sort of divine finish against the Zags.

Wolf Pack guard Ramon Sessions, squeezed by the Zags' defense at the three-point arc with the shot clock about to expire and the game tied at the 1:22 mark, squirmed around Jeremy Pargo, lofted up a prayerful, one-handed three and made it, the killing blow in Nevada's 82-74 upset Saturday at KeyArena.

"That fluke three, sometimes that happens," said Mark Few, the Gonzaga coach. "We played terrific defense, he kind of 'wished' one up and it went in. Whether it was a fluke or not, they made the winning plays."

Said Mark Fox, the Nevada coach, "I'd call that shot one that a winner makes."

Nevada went on to complete a 14-0 run — after a 15-0 burst earlier — marked by clutch plays and Gonzaga mistakes. It gives the No. 24 Wolf Pack (12-1) a quality victory, and saddles the Zags (9-5) with a third consecutive defeat and fourth in five games, a stretch unmatched since the 2000-01 season.

The game took place in front of an announced crowd of 15,110, which would make it the largest crowd to see a regular-season college-basketball game in Seattle history.

"It felt like a tournament game, no doubt," said Fox.

The Wolf Pack toughed out the victory despite losing senior big man standout Nick Fazekas, who fouled out with 5:15 left and the game tied at 61.

Nevada quickly fell behind by six, but Gonzaga booted several chances down the stretch while the Wolf Pack was uniformly clutch.

"I tell them often, this team is more than Nick Fazekas," said Fox, a former Washington assistant coach.

The outcome actually turned on a fateful minute after the weary teams dipped under the four-minute mark, awaiting a stoppage of play for the final television timeout.

With 3 ½ minutes left, Gonzaga led 67-63, but the Zags' Derek Raivio cast up a forced three. At the other end, Sessions was fouled on a shot, and the timeout finally came at 2:58.

Asked if he felt Gonzaga went inside enough with Fazekas sitting, Raivio noted the Zags' late turnover problem and Few stepped to his team's defense, saying Nevada's zone made it difficult.

Sessions hit two free throws, Raivio traveled and Marcelus Kemp's 12-footer tied it at 67 with 2:10 left. Kemp, the former Garfield standout returning to his hometown, had 21 points after a rocky first half.

The game continued to go south for Gonzaga. Nevada pressed, the Zags beat it and had a three-on-two break. Freshman Matt Bouldin hit Josh Heytvelt for a layup, but Heytvelt missed it.

Then came Sessions' dagger.

"I just threw it up," Sessions said, "and it went in."

Gonzaga followed with consecutive turnovers — Raivio and Pargo combined for 12 — wrapped around a key three by Denis Ikovlev. The Zags chased the rest of the way as Nevada scored on its last 10 possessions.

Referring to the belated television timeout, Fox said, "It was a great, high-level game. Every now and then, it works to our advantage, training at altitude. We just had a little more juice in our tank."

Kemp, a prolific complement to Fazekas, said "it meant a lot" to play in front of his family and friends, "and to win, that's the cherry on top."

Fazekas, Kemp and Sessions combined for 65 points. Pargo, penetrating frequently, had 18 to lead Gonzaga, but the Zags needed more offense from Heytvelt (14 points, six rebounds), especially when Fazekas was out.

"That's kind of how he's been," said Few. "He's still very young to the game, learning how to compete, learning the way to be successful. I think everybody was so quick to anoint him."

Nevada thus duplicated its NCAA second-round victory on the same floor over the Zags in 2004.

Promoter John Hines said the crowd count was figured on the basis of 2,735 unsold tickets, and said he'd been told the KeyArena capacity was about 17,700. But it's listed at 17,072 by the Sonics.

The largest regular-season crowd in Seattle history was 14,252 at the Seattle Center Coliseum for a Feb. 12, 1967 game between Seattle University and Texas Western the year after the Miners won the NCAA title.

Said Few, "The atmosphere was terrific."

Bud Withers: 206-464-8281 or bwithers@seattletimes.com

NEVADA (12-1)
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Fazekas	31	9-17	4-5	2-9	1	5	24
Ikovlev	32	2-3	0-0	1-2	1	3	6
Shiloh	34	2-6	0-0	3-5	4	4	4
Kemp	38	6-16	6-9	1-4	0	1	21
Sessions	28	6-9	6-6	3-8	4	4	20
Fields	3	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	0	0
Burleson	16	1-3	0-0	0-0	0	0	3
Ellis	14	1-2	0-0	1-1	0	1	2
McGee	4	1-2	0-0	1-1	0	2	2
Totals	200	28-58	16-20	14-32	11	20	82

Percentages: FG .483, FT .800. Three-point goals: 10-24, (Fazekas 2-3, Ikovlev 2-3, Shiloh 0-3, Kemp 3-9, Sessions 2-3, Burleson 1-3. Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 2, (Fazekas 2). Turnovers: 16, (Fazekas 3, Shiloh 2, Kemp 5, Sessions 4, Burleson, Ellis). Steals: 9, (Fazekas 3, Ikovlev 2, Kemp, Sessions 3).

GONZAGA (9-5)
min		fgm-a	ftm-a	or-t	a	pf	pts
Kuso	11	0-2	2-2	1-2	1	4	2
Heytvelt	30	6-10	2-2	3-6	1	2	14
Pargo	35	7-14	4-5	0-2	2	3	18
Raivio	38	3-7	6-6	0-1	4	2	15
Bouldin	35	4-9	0-0	0-5	3	2	10
A.-Cespedes	10	0-0	0-0	0-0	1	1	0
Pendergraft	18	0-2	2-2	1-2	1	2	2
Mallon	23	6-9	1-2	5-7	3	3	13
Totals	200	26-53	17-19	11-28	16	19	74

Percentages: FG .491, FT .895. Three-point goals: 5-13, (Heytvelt 0-1, Raivio 3-6, Bouldin 2-5, Mallon 0-1). Team rebounds: 3. Blocked shots: 2, (Kuso, Heytvelt). Turnovers: 19, (Heytvelt 2, Pargo 7, Raivio 5, Pendergraft 2, Mallon 3). Steals: 7, (Kuso, Heytvelt, Pargo, Bouldin, Pendergraft 3).

Nevada	29	53	—	82
Gonzaga	32	42	—	74

Attendance: 15,110. Officials: Tim Gabutero, Ken Ditty, Kevin Brill. Technical fouls: Nevada-None. Gonzaga-None.