Salt Lake City – Nevada junior Nick Fazekas was too stunned to think about his future. He couldn’t shake off the sting of the present.
“This is tough for us as a team,” Fazekas said after the fifth-seeded Wolf Pack were eliminated 87-79 Thursday by 12th-seeded Montana. “It is tough for us to take in. It was really tough for me.”
Fazekas, a former all-stater at Arvada’s Ralston Valley High School, said he would wait until he returned to Reno to inform the media about his timetable for deciding whether or not to make himself available for the 2006 NBA draft.
“That’s not what I’m thinking about right now,” the 6-foot-11, 235-pounder said as he headed to the locker room following interviews.
The reigning two-time Western Athletic Conference player of the year scored 24 points and grabbed 12 rebounds but Nevada played from behind almost the entire game.
Although undersized, Montana’s frontcourt players played physical. Andrew Strait, a 6-8 sophomore center, worked inside for 22 points. And 6-9 Jordan Hasquet added 16.
Montana also hit 4-of-8 3-pointers in the second half to stay in front.
“Those (3-pointers) were heartbreakers,” Fazekas said. “We just couldn’t get the lead. That was a problem. We were six or seven points behind. I felt if we had taken the lead, we would have been been OK.
“We struggled with our team defense,” he added. “We couldn’t get a lot of loose balls. We had a few breaks that didn’t go our way.”
Fazekas entered the game averaging 21.8 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. Montana chose not to double-team him, preferring instead to focus on a team concept at the defensive end.
“We just wanted (Fazekas) to have to work for everything he got,” Montana coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “I think we made him do that.
“Just focusing one person on him I think allowed us to hold our own on the glass a little bit.”
