Take 5: Rebels reeling from UNR loss heading into home game vs. SJSU

By Taylor Bern

Friday, Jan. 9, 2015 | 2 a.m.

The optimism around UNLV basketball despite back-to-back losses was sucked out of the gym Wednesday night when the Rebels dropped their third straight, this time at home as 10-point favorites against UNR.

To win the Mountain West teams must protect their home court, and UNLV failed to do that in its first league game at the Thomas & Mack Center this year. That it was the third straight victory for the Wolf Pack in the series only made it worse.

Now the Rebels (9-6, 0-2) must shake that off and try to get their first league win as a big favorite again at home Saturday against San Jose State (2-13, 0-3). The game tips off at 7 p.m. and will stream on the Mountain West Network and Campus Insiders.

Here’s a look at what went wrong for the Rebels and how they might respond against a struggling Spartans team that features a couple of locals:

1. So what happened on Wednesday?

There are a lot of factors you could point to that led to UNLV’s 64-62 loss at home to UNR, but the one coach Dave Rice stuck on was toughness.

From top to bottom he said the team wasn’t tough or physical enough with the Wolf Pack, which numbers and the eye test certainly support. The Rebels gave up 22 offensive rebounds and lost the overall battle 47-39, allowing UNR’s 6-foot-9 AJ West to bully his way to 15 rebounds and six blocks.

However, a little end-of-game execution could have saved them. In fact, while there were certainly some key differences some could argue that the biggest difference between this loss and the three single-possession victories at home earlier this year was simply how the Rebels performed at the end of the game.

2. Vaughn’s near-heroics

Rashad Vaughn was one of UNLV’s bright spots, hitting a go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:24 remaining that was quickly countered by UNR.

When coach David Carter called the play after Vaughn’s shot, Eric Cooper was up near the timeline. Cooper licked his fingers and rubbed them against each shoe right before setting the play in motion by curling from the left wing along the baseline and into the right corner.

UNR set up a double screen along the block and UNLV’s Pat McCaw, who was trailing the play too far while guarding a guy who already made three 3s, never made it through the cluster. Cooper was wide open.

Vaughn tried to take the lead again but his running bank shot was too strong. After a made UNR free throw and a questionable lane violation — a partially blocked replay showed Goodluck Okonoboh in the lane before West — Vaughn put it on himself again to lead UNLV. The freshman ended up out of control and lucky to get a foul call but he did, and he knocked down the free throws, making him 7-for-7.

One of the more frustrating postscripts to this game is that UNLV, which ranks in the bottom 40 nationally in free-throw percentage, shot a season-best 93.8 percent (15-of-16) at the line and still lost.

3. Just one stop

All of UNLV’s issues could have been “lessons learned” in a possible overtime win if only it could have made one more defensive stand as it did at home in narrow victories against Morehead State, Sam Houston State and Portland. Instead, Rice said, the Rebels played it completely wrong.

Because he was worried about another offensive rebound, Rice didn’t have the Rebels switching off of screens. So when UNR’s Marqueze Coleman brought the ball up, what was supposed to happen on the ball screen near the top of the key was McCaw going over the screen and Christian Wood leveling — basically getting up close to the ball and denying a drive — until McCaw was back in position.

What happened was McCaw went under the screen and Wood stayed back a few feet, giving Coleman an open look at a long jump shot that he swished. When Rice referenced toughness he was mostly talking about the physical kind, but also a little about UNLV lacking the mental toughness to stay focused on exactly how they’re supposed to guard in a critical situation.

4. Turning the page

Dwelling on the defeat doesn’t do the Rebels any good, though it should certainly leave a bad taste in their mouths. It’s their third straight loss but the first outright loss as a favorite this year.

If it’s true that playing consistently with the same type of effort that they had in Wyoming in New Year’s Eve would result in really good conference results, it’s also true that playing consistently like they did Wednesday would send the Rebels right to the bottom.

UNR came to play but UNLV needs only to look in the mirror to figure out how to correct the issues. The scouting report execution was lacking far more than in recent games, the effort to grab 50/50 balls didn’t come close to matching their opponent and when the Rebels took a six-point lead with 7:47 left they basically started running clock, only scoring one point over the next 5:50.

5. Las Vegans leading the Spartans

Former Las Vegas Prospects teammates Rashad Muhammad (Bishop Gorman High ’13) and Darryl Gaynor (Durango High ’14) are two of San Jose State’s most productive players. Muhammad, who returned last week from a three-game suspension, leads the team with 13.3 points per game while making nearly 40 percent beyond the arc while Gaynor ranks fourth in points (8.2) and second in assists (2.4).

In early December, SJSU coach Dave Wojcik announced he had suspended five players for a violation of team rules. That included Muhammad and Jaleel Williams, who are both back on the court, as well as Jordan Baker, Frank Rogers and Matt Pollard, who are still out indefinitely.

The Spartans were picked last in the league and their only two victories are against Bethesda and St. Katherine, so even at full strength they’re not very good. However, a couple of the guys who have had some success are likely looking to put on a show in their hometown, so once again the Rebels can overlook an opponent at their own risk.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.