ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- As Marlon Parmer walked past UNLV's locker room after the game, the New Mexico point guard tapped Dalron Johnson on the chest and gave him a smile and a nod.
Johnson barely acknowledged his old high school teammate.
For the first time in their college careers, Parmer finally got the better of Johnson on Monday night. Parmer's 16 points and backcourt assertiveness led the Lobos to a 75-56 comeback victory over the Rebels, his first in four games against UNLV.
Parmer, among the most improved players in the Mountain West, keyed New Mexico's rally with his speedy first step, good passing and solid shooting. He scored 11 points in the second half when the Lobos outscored UNLV 43-16 to erase a Rebels lead that reached 14 late in the first half.
While Parmer was erratic as a freshman starter last season, his former teammate from L.A.'s Verbum Dei High shined for UNLV. Johnson was chosen MWC co-freshman of the year. In addition, Johnson's Rebels had beaten New Mexico 75-73 and 80-67 last season and 80-72 last month.
"It was kind of like they've been kicking sand in our face the last three games," Lobos coach Fran Fraschilla said.
Parmer will own the bragging rights until next season, because UNLV is banned from the MWC tournament, so there's no chance of the teams meeting again this season.
"(UNLV) had pushed us around and been disrespectful," said Parmer, who aimed some trash talk at Jermaine Lewis in the second half. "It's been one of those things that I couldn't shake."
But the 6-foot-2 sophomore had no problem shaking Rebels defenders. His penetration kept UNLV off-balance, and his floor play fueled the Lobos' clinching 20-0 spurt over the final nine minutes. He had a basket, steal and three assists in that span, and ended with seven assists, three steals and four rebounds.
Johnson gave credit to his ex-teammate.
"He's improved a lot," Johnson said. "We didn't do a good job of rotating players in there against him. We had to (sub) a lot more, especially with his quickness. Our guards got tired."
"We couldn't contain Parmer," UNLV coach Max Good conceded.
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