Nevada wins and now gets Lyndale Burleson back

The Wolf Pack as expected beat Colorado State last night -- a team winless on the road -- and now has a senior point guard returning to the team.

Pack basketball: Kemp's second-half tear lifts Pack
Steve Sneddon
Reno Gazette-JOurnal
12/20/2007

On a night the outmanned Colorado State Rams wouldn't go away, Marcelus Kemp finally put them away.

Kemp scored 22 of his 28 points in the second half to lead Nevada to a 74-66 victory in front of 7,070 fans at Lawlor Events Center on Wednesday night. He went 7-of-10 from the field in the second half after going 1-of-6 in the first half. Kemp mostly punished the Rams with mid-range jumpers, but he also nailed a 25-foot 3-pointer in the second half. He was 11-of-13 from the line as the Rams had trouble containing his drives.

"I thought Marcelus played as mature as he has played since he's been here," Nevada coach Mark Fox said of the sixth-year senior. "He was extremely patient and let the game come to him. He trusted his teammates and he trusted the system. He really made his team better being as mature as he was."

Brandon Fields scored 12 points for the Pack and JaVale McGee finished with 11 points and nine rebounds. Willis Gardner scored 19 points and Andre McFarland had 17 for Colorado State.

Go here for the rest.

Plus, Steve Sneddon also had this in a separate article:

"Junior Lyndale Burleson will rejoin the team on Saturday, when it plays at Northern Iowa. Burleson has been academically ineligible since the season started..."

Burleson's return should steady the Wolf Pack frontcourt and also relieve Marcelus Kemp of most ball-handling duties -- a step that will allow Kemp greater focus on point production thus making Nevada a more dangerous squad.