Blog: Rebels post plenty of highlights in 62-point victory

By Taylor Bern

Published Monday, Nov. 16, 2015 | 6 p.m.

Updated Monday, Nov. 16, 2015 | 9:02 p.m.

UNLV 107, New Mexico Highlands 45

Game over

Dwayne Morgan brought the energy, Derrick Jones brought the highlights and UNLV did what it needed to while having some fun in a 107-45 victory against Division II New Mexico Highlands.

Five Rebels scored in double figures, led by freshman guard Jalen Poyser's 16 points, including 4-of-4 on 3-point shooting. Stephen Zimmerman posted his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds while Morgan fouled out with only two points, a stat line that doesn't do anything to reflect how big of an impact he had in getting the Rebels rolling.

UNLV shot 54.1 percent from the field and 48.1 percent on 3s. Check lasvegassun.com later tonight for a full report from the Rebels' victory.

Friday was tense. Tonight will be fun.

The Rebels (1-0) had to survive Cal Poly in the season opener but tonight they could reach triple digits on the scoreboard against Division II New Mexico Highlands (1-1). The game tips off at 7 p.m. in the Thomas & Mack Center and will stream on the Mountain West Network and UNLVRebels.com.

Highlands coach Craig Snow is in his second season in Las Vegas, N.M., and before that he spent three years on New Mexico’s staff alongside UNLV assistant Ryan Miller. That connection is what landed the Cowboys on UNLV’s schedule, and on Thursday Highlands plays its second straight Mountain West opponent at Wyoming.

UNLV has a quick turnaround to Wednesday’s home game against Southern Utah, which offers a good opportunity to test the team’s conditioning. It’s also a chance to see if the Rebels can keep their intensity and aggression at a high level for an extended period.

That’s what we saw out of halftime in the season opener, and it led to a 13-point lead. But then it didn’t take long for that lead to disappear and the game went down to the final minute.

Building double-digit leads, keeping the pressure on and not getting sloppy with the ball are the goals for the next two games. Both scores should be comfortable wins, but will they be performances that inspire confidence heading to the Maui Jim Maui Invitational?

Prediction: Pat McCaw is back in the starting lineup, the Rebels had a solid practice Sunday and UNLV will look really good for 25 to 30 minutes. UNLV 93, New Mexico Highlands 60

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