Blog: Four Rebels score in double figures in 71-58 victory at San Jose State

By Taylor Bern

Published Saturday, March 7, 2015 | 6 p.m.

Updated Saturday, March 7, 2015 | 9 p.m.

UNLV 71, San Jose State 58

Game over

Jelan Kendrick scored a career-high 21 points with seven rebounds, six assists and no turnovers to lead UNLV to a 71-58 victory against San Jose State tonight at the Events Center. UNLV wraps up the regular season in seventh place in the Mountain West at 17-14 overall and 8-10 in league play.

The Rebels will play UNR at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center in the first day of the Mountain West tournament. This is the first time the Rebels have played in one of the league's play-in games.

Dwayne Morgan continued his strong string of games with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists while Chris Wood registered his 18th double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds. Jordan Cornish also finished in double figures with 10 points.

Check lasvegassun.com later tonight for a full report from the Rebels' defeat.

If you go by the betting board, today should be a relatively easy evening for UNLV (16-14, 7-10), which is a 12.5-point favorite in a 7 p.m. tip at San Jose State. The game will stream on ESPN3.

The Spartans (2-27, 0-17) haven’t defeated a Division I opponent in about 13 months and they’re losing Mountain West games by an average of nearly 20 points per game, so on one hand it’s understandable why the betting number is large. San Jose State has been a single-digit underdog only twice since Dec. 6, although it has covered those big numbers in seven of the past eight games.

But no matter the number, this can’t feel like a comfortable spot for UNLV supporters, not with walk-ons Barry Cheaney and Charles Rushman figuring to get some significant minutes because the Rebels will play with only six scholarship players.

The latest casualty is freshman Pat McCaw, who suffered a concussion Wednesday when he collided with teammate Christian Wood. McCaw’s working through the NCAA’s protocol for returning from a head injury, and his return timetable is uncertain.

It’s possible McCaw is done for the season, and the same goes for freshmen guards Rashad Vaughn (partially torn meniscus) and Dantley Walker (sprained MCL). No one’s return for Wednesday’s Mountain West tournament game is a guarantee, and the only thing the Rebels know is they’ll be without all of them today.

McCaw’s absence will put freshman Jordan Cornish into the starting lineup with freshman Dwayne Morgan as the lone scholarship player off the bench. And yet, the Rebels are still expected to comfortably end San Jose State’s season as the Spartans are banned from postseason play this year because of a low APR score.

I’ve seen enough of San Jose State this season to understand how bad they are, but I can’t have any confidence going into the game about how well UNLV will be able to play. SJSU should double team Christian Wood every time he touches the ball, and any foul trouble to Wood or Goodluck Okonoboh could be a huge problem.

Bern’s prediction: Ultimately, I expect UNLV to be comfortable with 10 minutes to play, but there’s no way I’d bet it. Going with a lopsided score because I’ve picked against San Jose State every game this season and there’s no reason to stop now. UNLV 71, San Jose State 58

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