McGee, the Pack's 7-foot sophomore, put up an impressive
double-double with 29 points and 11 rebounds, and Johnson, the freshman from
nearby Hug High, scored 22 and dished out eight assists in
McGee knocked down 13 of 16 field-goal attempts, including
six dunks, and he threw down two 3-point field goals.
"JaVale had a very good
day," Fox said. "He's had a lot of good days like that in practice.
He's a much improved player and it was great to see that."
"I think I did OK," said the soft-spoken McGee.
"I just tried to play hard."
Johnson was 8-for-18 from the floor in his 36-minute stint.
"Armon just needs experience.
He's never acted like a freshman or played like a freshman," Fox said.
"He did a nice job for the first game. I thought he played very well and
under control. There were only two possessions I'd like to have back."
Johnson got the loudest applause from the 3,868 in
attendance.
"I think I did what I needed to do to help us win, and
that's what's important," Johnson said.
Despite the play of the two youngsters,
"They're a good team," Fox said. "I'm not
surprised it was a good game. That's one of the reasons why I scheduled them.
They are a very, very solid team that doesn't make a lot of mistakes. I was
hopeful it was going to be a good game."
That's all Seattle Pacific coach Jeff Hironaka
was hoping his team could deliver.
"We had no answer for their bigs,"
Hironaka said. "We just had to make them work. I
can't lack the effort of our guys. They played hard. Obviously not having a
couple of their players helped.
"They're bigs are as good as
they've been. McGee is going to be as good as (Nick) Fazekas
before he's through. Armon is very poised. He didn't
play like a freshman. I don't know if he could be Ramon Sessions or not. He
certainly goes to the basket better as a freshman than Ramon did."
Seattle Pacific trailed 13-12 with 12:26 left in the opening
half, but Nevada, led by McGee and Johnson, went on a 9-0 run to take a 22-12
lead. Johnson hit a floater and two free throws, and McGee knocked down a
triple from the top of the key. McGee completed the run with a dunk off a nice
feed by Johnson.
Seattle Pacific got back into the game with a 9-4 run in the
final three minutes of the half, as Marques Echols (20 points) scored five
points and Rich Diederichs (16 points) added two
buckets.
The Falcons continued their strong play in the second half
and went ahead 45-42 thanks to JoJay Jackson, who
knocked down two 3-pointer and two free throws.
Again, it was Johnson and McGee that brought the Pack back.
The two combined for a 9-1 run to give the Pack a 51-46 lead with 11:21 left.
The last bucket in the run saw McGee steal a pass in the open court and go
coast-to-coast for a Julius Erving-type dunk.
Seattle Pacific did get it back to 55-54 with 8:51 left, but
two free throws by Demarshay Johnson, a three by Armon Johnson and a free throw by McGee stretched the lead
to 61-54.
The Falcons did get the game back down to three with 2:14
left, but Nevada ripped off seven quick points to put it away.
One thing Fox liked was the unselfishness of his team. The
Pack had 18 assists on 27 baskets.
"We had more assists than turnovers," Fox said.
"We haven't had to battle that. We've been pretty cohesive from Day 1.
They try to make each other better."