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March 19, 2024

Rebels basketball:

Blog: Jones, McCaw spur UNLV to 93-73 win against Chaminade

UNLV Chaminade Basketball

Rick Bowmer / AP

UNLV guard Jalen Poyser (24) goes to the basket as Chaminade guard Kuany Kuany (15) defends in the first half of an NCAA basketball game in the second round of the Maui Invitational Tournament on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015, in Lahaina, Hawaii.

Updated Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015 | 3:36 p.m.

UNLV 93, Indiana 73

Game over

The Rebels wasted little time erasing a three-point halftime deficit and behind Derrick Jones Jr. and Pat McCaw they pulled away for a 20-point victory in their second game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. UNLV (4-1) will play again Wednesday at noon against No. 13 Indiana.

Jones kick-started UNLV's second-half run, when it worked to erase the memory of an ugly first half that featured little inside-out play and many missed free throws. Jones and McCaw combined to score 51 points while Jerome Seagears was the team's other scorer in double figures with 11.

UNLV's athleticism was too much for the Division II Silverswords, but Chaminade made its open looks in the first half and the small roster outrebounded UNLV 25-18. That couldn't last, but Chaminade goes to the seventh-place game knowing they gave it a good shot.

Indiana's upset loss to Wake Forest means the Rebels have another chance to get a quality victory, which is what they came out here to do. They could have a chance as long as nothing tomorrow resembles today's first half.

Check lasvegassun.com later today for a full report from the Rebels' victory.

UNLV vs. Chaminade

UNLV guard Jalen Poyser (24) lays the ball up as Chaminade guard Rohndell Goodwin (21) defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the second round of the Maui Invitational, Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015, in Lahaina, Hawaii. UNLV won 93-73. Launch slideshow »

In back-to-back years, UNLV’s loss to a Pac-12 team in its first game of a Thanksgiving tournament cost the Rebels a chance to play a top-5 team. The good news is that this year there’s a third game, so as long as they don’t trip over Division II Chaminade the Rebels could possibly get another quality opponent Wednesday in No. 13 Indiana.

First the Rebels (3-1) need to come out and handle their business against the Silverswords (0-3), who have former Rebel Dantley Walker and Silverado High grad David Ware on the roster. The game tips off at 1:30 p.m. Las Vegas time and airs on ESPN2.

Nevada’s all-time leading prep scorer and assist man, Walker appeared in a total of 11 games for UNLV last season after redshirting in 2013-14. Fifth-year Chaminade coach Eric Bovaird saw Walker’s name on the transfer list last offseason, and after looking at his high school stats Bovaird reached out.

Walker is averaging 4.7 points in 16.7 minutes per game, and eventually Bovaird would like him to take on a bigger role.

“Coming off of two years of not getting to play a whole lot at UNLV, he’s still finding his rhythm,” said fifth-year Chaminade coach Eric Bovaird. “I think UNLV had him just as a shooter but I want him to do more things. I want him to handle the ball and penetrate and make decisions. He’s getting accustomed to that.”

This game should be a good opportunity for the Rebels to work on their zone offense, which was a big part of their downfall last night against UCLA. Kansas hung 123 on the Silverswords, who play almost exclusively zone defense, the most points in coach Bill Self’s 13 seasons with the Jayhawks.

UNLV had a lot of bright spots in the UCLA game, including very consistent play from Ben Carter and great spurts by Pat McCaw, Stephen Zimmerman Jr. and others. But free throws again were huge and UCLA’s Thomas Welsh scored 20 points with barely a hand in his face on any shot.

Unlike last year’s trip to New York, when UNLV lost by 29 to Stanford and then defeated Temple, there’s a third game to play for, too. Wake Forest upset Indiana in the first game of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational and now the Hoosiers are big favorites against St. John’s.

It’s not how the Rebels envisioned this week playing out but they still have an opportunity to get a quality victory. First, they just need to get there.

Prediction: UNLV should rack up a lot of dunks and 3s today. If nothing else, it should make the Rebels feel better. UNLV 99, Chaminade 69

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

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