RENO - Ramon Sessions sat out the entire game against UC Davis Wednesday night, and coach Mark Fox isn't sure when his talented sophomore point guard will return.
Sessions has been trying to fight through a nagging hip injury for the past few weeks, and he's only been able to play more than 20 minutes twice in the previous five games.
"We miss Ramon, and I have no idea when he'll be back," Fox said after the 78-51 victory. "If Ramon had his way, he would have played tonight. We can't risk re-injuring him. We're trying to get him ready for Saturday. I'd say it's 50-50."
Lyndale Burleson started in Sessions' spot. He scored one point and dished out five assists. Kyle Shiloh also played some minutes at the point, and he scored three points and finished with five assists.
"Lyndale has been growing and getting better every week, and tonight he was solid again," Fox said. "Our point guard play was solid."
KUDOS FOR SHILOH
Fox had special praise for Shiloh, who did a tremendous defensive job on UC Davis' Vince Oliver, who entered the game with a 15.4 average.
Oliver finished with five points and only got up three shots.
"Kyle is a terrific defender," Fox said. "Go back to last year. He was on the WAC all-defensive team, but he was unanimously voted by our team the best defender. He's been a lockdown defender for us and it usually goes unnoticed. Tonight was another example of how well he can play at that end."
Shiloh's play earned grudging respect from Oliver.
"He's a good defender," Oliver said. "The scouting report said he was their best perimeter defender. I got a little frustrated at times."
Oliver was angry at himself because once he got frustrated he wasn't doing other things to contribute.
JOHNSON IMPROVING
Demarshay Johnson enjoyed his best game to date, scoring a season-high 11 points and pulling down five rebounds in his 21-minute stint.
"I'm trying to work hard," said the 6-8 junior center. "When I'm in the lineup I'm trying to contribute. I play hard so I can stay on the floor as long as possible."
Fox said he's noticed a difference.
"He's getting more and more comfortable," Fox said. "He's gotten himself in better condition."
NICE CROWD
The crowd of nearly 10,000 was the best of the season, and it wasn't lost on the Nevada players and coaches.
"We used to wonder whether we'd have 3 or 4,000," Fox admitted. "To have close to 10,000 on a weeknight for a nonconference game is a credit to our community. I appreciate the people that come to watch us."
FACTS & FIGURES
Two UC Davis players surpassed the 500-point mark this year. Rommel Marentez did it on Nov. 25 at Dartmouth and Thomas Juillerat moved above that plateau two nights later at Harvard ... The Aggies are in the third year of a four-year reclassification to NCAA Division I status. Davis is playing a predominantly Division I schedule again this year, including home and home meetings with the rest of the Big West teams ... Fox said he knew he would parcel out the minutes pretty evenly against UC Davis, partially because of the long road trip, and the fact that the players didn't bounce back as quickly as he had hoped. Ten of the 11 players got in for 11 minutes or more. Burleson and Nick Fazekas each played 24 minutes ...Nevada outrebounded UC Davis 36-33, and is 5-0 when outrebounding its opponent ... Nevada outscored the Aggies 24-22 in the paint, had a 10-2 edge in fast-break points and converted Aggie mistakes into 23 points ... David Ellis tied a career high with 6 points, connecting on 3 of 5 field goal attempts ... Nevada shot 57 percent from 3-point range, a season-high in that category ... Curry Lynch, a crowd favorite got in for five minutes and contributed two rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot. The fans started chanting his name with a little less than five minutes left in the game.
