Top 15 Wolf Pack Senior Night performances in last decade

Lyndale Burleson, whose specialty was defense, played his final game at Lawlor Events Center on March 5, 2009 against San Jose State. Burleson started and played 22 minutes and played well, scoring six points and dishing out three assists. He also had a rebound and a steal in what was a typical performance for the unselfish point guard. The Wolf Pack would roll over the Spartans 89-66. The Pack would go on to lose in the Western Athletic Conference tournament the following week and found itself in the College Basketball Invitational once again at home 12 days later, this time against UTEP. The UTEP game would actually be Burleson's Lawlor farewell as it was for head coach Mark Fox, who would take a job at Georgia shortly after the season.Demarshay Johnson was one of four Wolf Pack players honored on senior Night in 2008 along with Curry Lynch, Marcelus Kemp and David Ellis. The Wolf Pack would blow out Louisiana Tech 87-57 on March 1, 2008 as the Pack knew it had to go to Las Cruces, N.M. 12 days later and win the Western Athletic Conference tournament if it wanted to go back to the NCAA tournament for the fifth consecutive season. Johnson played well in his Lawlor farewell, doing a little bit of everything with five points, four rebounds, three assists in 21 minutes. The game, though, didn't turn out to be the last for Johnson, Kemp, Ellis and Lynch at Lawlor as the Pack lost in the WAC tournament and played a College Basketball Invitational game at home against Houston 17 days later.Mo Charlo had his typical solid performance in his final regular season game at Lawlor Events Center on March 4, 2006. Charlo had just three points in 25 minutes, missing five of his six shots from the field but he contributed in other ways. Charlo had seven rebounds, three assists and a steal in the 74-60 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs. This was not your usual, emotional Senior Night, though, as the Pack knew it was opening the Western Athletic Conference tournament at Lawlor Events Center just five days later. Charlo would score seven points and pull down five rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench in a NCAA tournament loss to Montana before fouling out in his final Wolf Pack game 12 days later.View the list »
Todd Okeson had an incredible knack as a point guard of doing whatever his team needed on a given night. On March 6, 2004 against San Jose State, Okeson and most of the starters weren't needed to do much in an easy 74-45 win. Okeson, though, did a solid job in 24 minutes, making sure the Spartans wouldn't get any confidence. He dished out three assists and scored five points -- all from the free throw line -- and also had a steal. Okeson only turned the ball over once in his 24 minutes as the Pack enjoyed a nice tune-up for the Western Athletic Conference tournament five days later in Fresno.

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The Nevada Wolf Pack men's basketball team will honor its two seniors, Malik Story and Keith Fuetch, on Wednesday night before tip-off of the final regular season home game of the season at Lawlor Events Center against the New Mexico Lobos.

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For Story it will be the 96th start of his three-year Wolf Pack career. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Pasadena, Calif., is averaging a team-best 16.4 points a game with 3.4 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.2 steals for the 12-15 Wolf Pack.

Story , who averaged 14.5 points a game as a sophomore and 14.1 last year, is the Wolf Pack's all-time leading 3-point shooter with 241. He's also taken the most 3-point shots by a Wolf Pack in history with 626 (his .385 success rate is 10th best). Story is also currently 10th on the Wolf Pack's all-time points scored list with 1,417.

For Fuetsch, it will likely be the first start of his four-year career. The Bishop Manogue High graduate has played in just 44 games over the past four years and has been on the court for just 229 minutes, scoring 48 points with nine steals, 20 turnovers, 21 assists, seven 3-pointers, 11-of-19 on free throws and 15 rebounds.

The Wolf Pack beat Louisiana Tech, 79-69, on Senior Night last season to improve to 8-2 over its last 10 home farewell parties of the year.

The Wolf Pack has honored 23 seniors over the past 10 seasons on Senior Night.

The eight who didn't make our list of the Top 15 were:

  • ADAM CARP: Carp played five minutes in a 72-66 loss to Boise State on Feb. 26, 2011 and had one rebound and didn't take a shot. He also had a turnover and a foul.
  • CURRY LYNCH: Lynch played 11 minutes in an 87-57 win over Louisiana Tech on March 1, 2008 and scored two points with three rebounds and an assist.
  • DAVID ELLIS: Ellis' Senior Night was also in 2008. He scored four points with a rebound, block, turnover and foul in 14 minutes.
  • DENNIS IKOVLEV: Ikovlev played 23 minutes in a 69-65 win on March 3, 2007 and scored two points with three rebounds, two assists and four fouls.
  • SETH TAYLOR: Taylor started and played two minutes in a 74-60 win over Fresno State on March 4, 2006 and did not score but did have an assist and a foul.
  • CHAD BELL: Bell also bid farewell to the Lawlor faithful in 2006, playing 11 minutes with two points, a turnover and three fouls.
  • SEAN PAUL: Paul played 22 minutes in a 74-45 win over San Jose State on March 6, 2004 and had five points, four rebounds, a steal and a block with three fouls.
  • JERRY PETTY: Petty played 29 minutes and had two points, four assists, a turnover and three fouls in a 79-73 loss to Tulsa on March 8, 2003.

A look at the Top 15 Wolf Pack individual performances on Senior Night over the last decade . . .

View the list
  • Todd Okeson had an incredible knack as a point guard of doing whatever his team needed on a given night. On March 6, 2004 against San Jose State, Okeson and most of the starters weren't needed to do much in an easy 74-45 win. Okeson, though, did a solid job in 24 minutes, making sure the Spartans wouldn't get any confidence. He dished out three assists and scored five points -- all from the free throw line -- and also had a steal. Okeson only turned the ball over once in his 24 minutes as the Pack enjoyed a nice tune-up for the Western Athletic Conference tournament five days later in Fresno.
  • Mo Charlo had his typical solid performance in his final regular season game at Lawlor Events Center on March 4, 2006. Charlo had just three points in 25 minutes, missing five of his six shots from the field but he contributed in other ways. Charlo had seven rebounds, three assists and a steal in the 74-60 win over the Fresno State Bulldogs. This was not your usual, emotional Senior Night, though, as the Pack knew it was opening the Western Athletic Conference tournament at Lawlor Events Center just five days later. Charlo would score seven points and pull down five rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench in a NCAA tournament loss to Montana before fouling out in his final Wolf Pack game 12 days later.
  • Demarshay Johnson was one of four Wolf Pack players honored on senior Night in 2008 along with Curry Lynch, Marcelus Kemp and David Ellis. The Wolf Pack would blow out Louisiana Tech 87-57 on March 1, 2008 as the Pack knew it had to go to Las Cruces, N.M. 12 days later and win the Western Athletic Conference tournament if it wanted to go back to the NCAA tournament for the fifth consecutive season. Johnson played well in his Lawlor farewell, doing a little bit of everything with five points, four rebounds, three assists in 21 minutes. The game, though, didn't turn out to be the last for Johnson, Kemp, Ellis and Lynch at Lawlor as the Pack lost in the WAC tournament and played a College Basketball Invitational game at home against Houston 17 days later.
  • Lyndale Burleson, whose specialty was defense, played his final game at Lawlor Events Center on March 5, 2009 against San Jose State. Burleson started and played 22 minutes and played well, scoring six points and dishing out three assists. He also had a rebound and a steal in what was a typical performance for the unselfish point guard. The Wolf Pack would roll over the Spartans 89-66. The Pack would go on to lose in the Western Athletic Conference tournament the following week and found itself in the College Basketball Invitational once again at home 12 days later, this time against UTEP. The UTEP game would actually be Burleson's Lawlor farewell as it was for head coach Mark Fox, who would take a job at Georgia shortly after the season.
  • Joey Shaw was one of three Wolf Pack players honored on Senior Night in 2010 along with Brandon Fields and Ray Kraemer. Shaw would play the fewest minutes of all three in the 79-68 victory over Louisiana Tech on March 6, 2010. The shooting guard played just 21 minutes because of foul trouble but found enough time to score seven points on 2-of-7 shooting. Shaw also had two rebounds, a steal and four fouls. Like many Wolf Pack Senior Nights over the past decade, it wasn't all that emotional because the Pack knew it wasn't its final game at Lawlor Events Center. The Pack would host the Western Athletic Conference tournament the following week, losing in the semifinals. The loss in the WAC semis to New Mexico state was also the final one in a Pack uniform for sophomore Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson, who never got a Senior Night because they left early for the NBA.
  • Kyle Shiloh, like Dennis Ikovlev, made the mistake of celebrating their Senior Night on the same night at Nick Fazekas on March 3, 2007. Shiloh, though, was rewarded by playing 36 minutes in the 69-65 win over New Mexico State. Shiloh was 3-of-7 from the floor for seven points despite missing all three of his 3-point attempts. He also had a key five assists and no turnovers. Shiloh also contributed a steal and a rebound in the narrow victory. The season would end 15 days later with a loss to Memphis in the NCAA tournament. It was the Pack fourth trip to the NCAA tournament in a row but the program hasn't been back since.
  • Head coach David Carter rewarded super sub Ray Kraemer with his first college start on March 6, 2010 on Senior Night against Louisiana Tech. And the shooting guard responded with a solid performance in the 79-68 victory. Dario Hunt, a sophomore, started the game on the bench so that Kraemer could get the ceremonial start. Kraemer scored seven points and pulled down six rebounds in 23 minutes. All five of his shots were from beyond the arc and he made two. Kraemer also had a steal as the Pack avenged a loss at Louisiana Tech back in early January to open the Western Athletic Conference season. The Pack would host the WAC Tournament at Lawlor the following week, with dreams of getting back to the NCAA Tournament for the first tie in three years. But a loss to New Mexico State in the semifinals sent the Pack to the National Invitation Tournament where they played road games at Wichita State and Rhode Island.
  • Olek Czyz enjoyed many emotional games at Lawlor Events Center, including winning two Nevada high school state championships as a member of the Reno Huskies. Senior Night was also one of those emotional moments for the passionate Czyz. He battled foul trouble all game and was able to stay on the floor for just 21 minutes but he chipped in to the 79-69 win over Louisiana Tech with nine points and six rebounds. He made 5-of-6 from the free throw line and also had an assist and blocked a shot. Czyz's final game at Lawlor would turn out to be a  win over Bucknell in the National Invitation Tournament 15 days later and his Pack career ended three days after that with a loss at Stanford.
  • Marcelus Kemp, one of the most underrated Pack players in history, was finally the unquestioned best player on the Wolf Pack as a senior in 2008 after playing second fiddle to Nick Fazekas, Ramon Sessions, Kevinn Pinkney and others his first three seasons. Kemp played 31 minutes on his Senior Night in an 87-57 win over Louisiana Tech on March 1, 2008. He made 4-of-12 shots from the floor (1-of-4 on threes) and finished with nine points. He turned the ball over three times and was called for three fouls but he also had eight rebounds in the blowout victory. His final game for the Pack at Lawlor would turn out to be a one-point loss to Houston in the College Basketball Invitational 17 days later.
  • Jermaine Washington saved one of his best performances in a Nevada Wolf Pack uniform for his Senior Night. The unheralded Washington played 34 minutes in a 70-56 victory over Tulsa and had 13 points and six rebounds. It was an emotional day for the Pack and the two seniors, Washington and Kevinn Pinkney. Earlier that day on Feb. 21 2005, the Pack had debuted in the national rankings for the first time that season and former Pack coach Trent Johnson, who left after the 2003-04 season for Stanford, was in the stands to see Washington and Pinkney play their final regular season game at Lawlor Events Center. Washington had a standout game, making 6-of-8 shots from the field with two steals and a blocked shot. The game, though, wasn't the last for Washington or Pinkey at Lawlor as the Pack would lose to Boise State in its first game of the Western Athletic Conference tournament at home on March 10.
  • Brandon Fields showed all of his ample skills on the night of March 6, 2010 in a 79-68 victory over Louisiana Tech. He played 37 minutes on his Senior Night, making 5-of-13 shots from the field (2-of-7 on 3-pointers) and scoring 13 points. The guard also grabbed seven rebounds, handed out three assists and blocked two Louisiana Tech shots in the 11-point win. The win over Louisiana Tech wasn't Fields' last performance at Lawlor, though, he certainly wishes it was. His actual final game at Lawlor was a 35-minute, zero-point effort in an 80-79 loss to New Mexico State in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament where he missed all five of his shots (all 3-point attempts).
  • Gary Hill-Thomas said good-bye to Nevada Wolf Pack fans on the night of March 6, 2004 with a tremendous performance. Hill-Thomas played just 27 minutes in the 74-45 win over San Jose State but he filled those 27 minutes with standout production. He was 6-of-8 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line and scored 18 points. Hill-Thomas also pulled down five rebounds in the win and had an assist as the Pack tuned up for the Western Athletic Conference Tournament five days later in Fresno. The Pack would win the WAC Tournament and go to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1985.
  • Kevinn Pinkney was never afraid of playing his best when the spotlight shined the brightest. The power forward had a double-double on his Senior Night with 10 points and 10 rebounds in a 70-56 victory over Tulsa on Feb. 21, 2005. Pinkney was 3-of-7 from the floor and 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the crucial victory over Tulsa. Pinkney also handed out four assists and had two steals as the Pack won for the seventh time in a row in a streak that would reach 10 before it ended with a stunning loss to Boise State at Lawlor Events Center in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. Pinkney finished his Pack career in March 2006 with two outstanding NCAA Tournament games, scoring 15 points and pulling down seven boards against Texas and scoring 22 points and grabbing 11 rebounds against No.1  Illinois.
  • Dario Hunt just seemed to get better and better with each passing season. The undersized center played with a huge heart and desire and he proved it once again on his Senior Night on March 3, 2012. Hunt had a monster game with 16 points and 14 rebounds to go along with three assists and three blocks in a 79-69 victory over Louisiana Tech. Hunt was 7-of-9 from the field and 2-of-6 from the line in the victory. He also was called for just one foul in his 39 minutes of action. Hunt's actual final game at Lawlor Events Center took place 15 days later in the National Invitation Tournament against Bucknell. And Hunt played well again, scoring eight points and pulling down 10 rebounds in a 75-67 victory, joining an exclusive club of Pack seniors who ended their careers at Lawlor with a postseason win (Mo Charlo, Chad Bell, Seth Taylor in 2006 and Hunt and Olek Czyz in 2012).
  • It is only fitting that the greatest player in the history of Nevada Wolf Pack basketball gave a performance to remember in his final home game. Fazekas' Senior Night effort was outstanding. He had 22 points and pulled down nine rebounds against New Mexico State on March 3, 2007 in a 69-65 victory. It was also an important victory as the Pack was coming off a tough loss at Utah State just two days earlier and the Pack had lost at New Mexico State in late January. The center was 12-of-15 from the free throw line against the Aggies. He also had three assists, two steals and blocked a shot despite being called for four fouls in his 36 minutes. It was his last game in a Wolf Pack uniform at Lawlor Events Center as the Pack finished out Fazekas' senior year with two games in the Western Athletic Conference tournament at Las Cruces, N.M., and two games in the NCAA Tournament in New Orleans.
View the list

, Nevada Wolf Pack Examiner

Joe Santoro is an award-winning sportswriter with over three decades of experience. Joe is the dean of Northern Nevada sports reporters and has covered University of Nevada Wolf Pack sports as a beat reporter and columnist for more than two decades. His "Friday Fodder" column is the longest...

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