Wednesday, March 5, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
For UNLV, it was important to shake off a regular-season-ending one-point loss to Colorado State and start quickly in its Western Athletic Conference Tournament opener Tuesday against Rice.
Momentum can be fleeting at this time of the year. And for a team that needs every win to maintain slim NCAA Tournament hopes, any further dropoff in the momentum department would have been fatal.
An 18-4 start Tuesday against the Owls ended any doubts about the Rebels' ability to bounce back and let opportunity slip away. With that speedy opening, UNLV never looked back, advancing to Thursday's quarterfinals with a 71-61 win at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The victory gave UNLV its 20th of the season, the first time since 1992-93 (when they finished 21-8) that the Rebels have reached that mark. UNLV will take a 20-8 record into Thursday's 12:30 p.m. game against Tulsa.
"I don't think we could've started better than we did," UNLV coach Bill Bayno said. "That's as good a start as we've had all year.
"I was concerned whether we'd come out with the intensity we needed to playing at 12:30. We haven't played this early all year."
The Rebels got off to their fast start with good defense, an effective transition game and a hot hand from the perimeter.
Sunshine Smith shook off the pain from chronic tendinitis in his right knee to get UNLV going with a pair of layups. Tyrone Nesby found the range from outside by nailing a couple of 3-pointers and the shots kept dropping.
Rice, meanwhile, struggled from outside. And had it not been for 6-foot-11 center Shaun Igo, it would have been over earlier than it was. The senior scored 33 points, the most by a UNLV opponent this season.
UNLV shot 60 percent in the first half and made 8 of 11 3-pointers in building a 40-28 halftime lead.
"It wasn't perfect basketball," Bayno said. "But our defense, intensity and emotion was real good. This team is playing hard and it's together.
"I knew we couldn't keep up that kind of shooting so I told the guys to look inside first, then outside. We weren't going to win the game shooting threes. That's fool's gold."
Bayno was right. The Rebels shot just 26 percent in the second half. But UNLV had five players in double figures, with Nesby, Sunshine Smith and Warren Rosegreen all finishing with 12. Damian Smith had 11 and Keon Clark also had 11 points to match his 11 rebounds.
Hoop du jour
* GOOD-LUCK CHARM RETURNS: When Joe Bayno is in the house, UNLV doesn't lose -- and coach Bill Bayno's dad was on hand Tuesday, sitting behind the Rebels' bench to watch the 71-61 win over Rice. UNLV is 11-0 when Joe B. is at the Thomas & Mack. And yes, he'll be on hand Thursday for the Tulsa game.
* SATURN SHOOTOUT CONTESTANT? He probably doesn't qualify because he's a scholarship athlete, but Rice's Josh Stringer had the shot of the tournament so far. His desperation heave at the final buzzer from just inside the mid-court stripe caught nothing but net. The 3-pointer cut UNLV's margin of victory to 10.
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