Ninth-Seeded Nevada Holds Off Texas 61-57

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Kevinn Pinkney scored 15 points and Nevada rallied to beat Texas 61-57 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA tournament.<br> <br> Ninth-seeded Nevada (25-6) will face either top-seeded Illinois or Fairleigh Dickinson in the second round of the Chicago Regional on Saturday.<br> <br> Pinkney spent much of the game in foul trouble and the Wolf Pack&#39;s top scorer, Nick Fazekas was held to just 10 points - well below his average of 21.4 points. They combined for more than 41 percent of the Wolf Pack&#39;s scoring entering the game.<br> <br> Mo Charlo added 12 points for the Wolf Pack, Ramon Sessions had 11, and Fazekas grabbed 13 rebounds. <br> <br> Nevada rallied from a 57-53 deficit with 2:24 left and overcame a career-high 20 points from Texas&#39; Jason Klotz. Klotz scored 16 points in the second half when he and Kenny Taylor nearly rallied the eighth-seeded Longhorns by themselves. Brad Buckman had 14 points and 11 rebounds, while Taylor finished with 12 points.<br> <br> It&#39;s the first time in four years the Longhorns (20-11) were eliminated before the regional semifinals.<br> <br> Defensively, both teams played well.<br> <br> Offensively, both struggled - none more than Fazekas. <br> <br> The Western Athletic Conference player of the year wore a mask to protect his broken nose and it appeared to have an effect. He was just was just 1-of-6 from the field in the first half, missed the rim by several feet on one shot and had another bounce off the shot clock. He finished 3-of-14.<br> <br> It was that kind of day against Texas&#39; aggressive zone.<br> <br> But the Wolf Pack still found a way to win.<br> <br> Klotz dominated during the last 7 minutes, scoring eight points in an 11-2 run that gave Texas a 55-51 lead with 4:14 to go. It appeared then the Longhorns would pull away.<br> <br> But Charlo completed a three-point play to pull Nevada to 57-56 with 1:28 left and Pinkney put in a 5-footer to give the Wolf Pack the lead with 44.3 seconds left.<br> <br> Texas then missed a 3-pointer and the Wolf Pack connected on three of four free throws in the final 21.5 seconds to seal the win.<br> <br> Nevada won its 25th game for the second straight, tying the record for the second most in school history. Last year, the Wolf Pack advanced to the round of 16.<br> <br> Daniel Gibson, the Big 12 freshman of the year, scored just eight points.

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