Rebels finish non-conference play
KSNV coverage of UNLV basketball looking to Mountain West Conference, Jan. 4, 2012.
UNLV’s path to offensive success usually starts in the hands of Chace Stanback.
The Rebels (15-2) navigate that path so well, though, because throughout the game, they can go to almost anyone else.
After all, they didn’t rack up the nation’s most assists (320) by holding onto the ball.
The most difficult thing for the opposing defense is figuring out how to take away multiple options. And that’s the task at 7 p.m. today for Cal State Bakersfield (7-8) as it hosts No. 17 UNLV.
Some nights, such as the night of UNLV’s 124-75 victory against Central Arkansas on Dec. 28, Stanback can fire at will the entire game as he racks up 29 points. Other times, such as in a 74-69 victory at Hawaii on Saturday, he steps aside.
“He was 5-of-6 in the first half, and I probably needed to get Chace a few more shots in the second half,” UNLV coach Dave Rice said. “But having said that, I have so much confidence in our other guys that we’d like to play based on what the defense is giving us.”
On the island, it was junior guard Anthony Marshall who stepped up and found the holes in the defense. Now, Marshall, Stanback and sophomore forward Mike Moser have proven they’re legitimate game changers. And then there are guards Oscar Bellfield and Justin Hawkins and centers Carlos Lopez and Quintrell Thomas, all of whom have scored big points in various games this season.
The Rebels will likely face the Roadrunners without one of their other pieces, as starting center Brice Massamba is still suffering concussion-like symptoms after getting hit in the head at Hawaii.
Massamba traveled with the team to Bakersfield but, Rice said, he’s still day-to-day.
“More minutes are great but with Brice out, it’s still the same mindset. It’s all about the team,” Lopez said.
The Roadrunners are stocked with junior college and community college transfers playing for first-year coach Rod Barnes.
Barnes, the 2001 Naismith Coach of the Year at Ole Miss, brought in the team’s leading scorer, Issiah Grayson, who played at Findlay Prep, and Las Vegas native Adam Young.
“It’s an athletic group that thus far has pushed the ball in transition, so it should be an up-and-down game,” Rice said.
Those have been the fun ones for UNLV thus far. To make sure this one follows a similar script, the Rebels have to avoid distractions.
Moser said the team lost focus at Hawaii, partially because it was distracted by injures and foul trouble.
A possible distraction for this game is the nine-day layoff that immediately follows.
“I can’t even think about that,” Lopez said. “I just want to go over to Bakersfield and get that win.”
The Roadrunners played arguably their best game of the season on Monday at home in a 72-73 loss to New Mexico State.
The Aggies, who earlier in the year won at New Mexico, were bailed out in the final seconds by a Roadrunner foul.
“They have our full attention,” Rice said. “They’re 4-1 at home and probably should be 5-0 if they hadn’t fouled 90 feet from the basket.”
This game isn’t at Bakersfield’s home gym, though. To accommodate more fans, it’s being played at the Rabobank Arena, which seats 10,800.
The extra fans are coming for the Rebels. Just which team they’ll see excel offensively is partially up to the Roadrunner defense.
“It’s very difficult (for a defense) to triangle-and-two us or box-and-one, because we have other guys who can hurt you,” Rice said.
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