Instant Analysis: If Chris Wood plays like this, the Rebels will be a tough team to beat

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Wednesday, March 11, 2015 | 4:30 p.m.

Here are some observations from the UNLV basketball team’s 67-46 victory against UNR in the first round of the Mountain West tournament. The Rebels, needing to win four games in four days to earn the league’s automatic berth into next week’s NCAA Tournament, advance to play San Diego State at 6 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals.

One thing is certain — the Rebels have momentum. This was one of their best performances of the up-and-down season.

How the game was won: If Christian Wood plays like this every night, UNLV will be a tough team to eliminate. Wood was the best player on the court, making it a point to attack from the inside, where he found much success. He scored a game-high 28 points on 9 of 13 shooting and consistently got to the free throw line to make 10 of 13 attempts. The 6-foot-11 forward, who frequently during his two-year Rebel career has settled for shots on the perimeter, attempted just one 3-pointer. His dominance freed up teammates to have success, with Jordan Cornish, Jelan Kendrick and Patrick McCaw each making momentum-changing 3-pointers. UNLV, who has played in closely contested games most of the season, finally put away an opponent in building a double-digit second-half lead and refusing to back down. Sure, UNR was a helpless opponent. But UNLV lost earlier this season at home to its in-state rival and some thought UNLV, who because of injury is down to seven scholarship players, was prone to upset. Those few times the game appeared to be in doubt — Reno cut the deficit to four points midway through the second half — Wood scored to stop the threat. Most of the shots were from close to the basket. The Rebels need a repeat performance Thursday. But, at least they have a script to follow to get a victory.

Cornish comes up big: True freshmen receiving significant playing time either sink or swim. They either show they can be a piece of the puzzle moving forward or are overwhelmed by a higher level of competition. Jordan Cornish is swimming at a rapid pace, drilling a pair of crucial 3-pointers today to help UNLV build a double-digit lead. Rashad Vaughn was the Mountain West’s Freshman of the Year and Pat McCaw has been arguably UNLV’s most important player. Let’s not forget about Cornish. The wing plays with a chip on his shoulder and confidence, and refuses to back down. He has that swagger some of his teammates have painfully lacked. Remember when he wouldn’t get pushed around against Arizona? Today was also impressive. His first-half 3-pointers each came at the end of the shot clock to help UNLV build a double-digit halftime lead. In the second half, he scored on a nifty layup on a play in transition, calmly buried a pair of free throws when UNR was rallying and drained another momentum-building 3-pointer. On all plays, he didn’t hesitate.

UNLV defense deserves credit: UNLV forced UNR into 20 turnovers, turning those miscues into 21 points off turnovers. They limited UNR to 29 percent shooting and just six points in the final nine minutes. The Rebels played with energy, challenged shots and continued to apply the pressure when a lesser opponent showed weakness. McCaw led the way with four steals, but more importantly, didn’t settle for just gaining possession. He pushed the ball up the court for easy baskets. UNLV players were tremendous in transition in distributing the ball to the open shooter. The extra passes netted 14 assists on 20 field goals made. It’s how they’ve been trying to play all season. It’s too bad every opponent wasn’t like nine-win UNR — a team who some felt had thrown in the towel on the season.

A look at the stat sheet: Dwayne Morgan was again hindered by fouls, picking up his fourth personal with 12:08 to play. He finished with two points in 15 minutes. ... The Rebels, one of the nation’s top-10 teams in blocks per game, finished with eight blocks. Goodluck Okonoboh again led the way with four blocks. ... Senior Jelan Kendrick, after scoring a career-high 21 points last Saturday against San Jose State, didn’t score until eight minutes were left. He did have a crucial 3-pointer in the second half to finish with eight points. Walk-on Charles Rushman had a nice drive to the basket for two points in the final minute and took a charge on the next possession. Yes, everything was going the Rebels’ way. ... UNR’s AJ West was again a beast on the boards against UNLV in finishing with 28 rebounds. On one possession in the first half, he had three offensive rebounds. And with four minutes remaining in the first half, he was outrebounding UNLV by himself, 12-11. Awesome effort from one player.

Up next: UNLV’s daunting task of winning four games in four days in the Mountain West to reach the NCAAs gets significantly more difficult Thursday against San Diego State, the No. 2 seed in the tournament and the Rebels’ nemesis. San Diego State has beaten UNLV in five straight games, but the two contests this season where closely contested with the Rebels having second half leads. San Diego State plays more physical than UNLV and has the league’s best defense. But it struggles to score, ranking just 292nd nationally out of about 320 teams. If UNLV can knock down its shots, especially the 3-pointer, it will have a fighting chance to keep its season alive. At this stage of the season, with UNLV needing to win out to reach the tournament, having a fighting chance is better than having no chance at all. The Rebels should have momentum from tonight's win, right?

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21