Blog: Rebels play fast and free in Simon’s debut, top Lobos 86-74

By Taylor Bern

Published Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016 | 6 p.m.

Updated Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016 | 9:12 p.m.

UNLV 86, New Mexico 74

Game over

Stephen Zimmerman Jr. notched 15 points and 15 rebounds, four Rebels scored in double figures and interim coach Todd Simon picked up his first career victory in his Division I coaching debut, an 86-74 victory against New Mexico at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The victory ends a three-game conference losing streak for the Rebels (10-7, 1-3) that resulted in fifth-year coach Dave Rice's ouster on Sunday. That gave Simon and UNLV a little more than 48 hours to prepare for their next game, and the results were pretty much exactly what Rebels fans would hope for.

UNLV was dreadful beyond the arc in the first half and didn't get much better (7-of-30) but that ended up OK because the rest of their shots were mostly set up through the post and getting decent looks off of drives, and the defense turned up the pressure, causing problems for the Lobos most of the night.

New Mexico had nine turnovers at halftime and finished with 14, which UNLV turned into 24 points. That's turning a weakness into a strength as turnovers were UNLV's biggest recent problem, and another was the free-throw line, where UNLV shot 27-of-33 tonight.

Overall it was a positive game for the Rebels and a strong start for third-year assistant Simon, who will hunt for career victory No. 2 on Saturday at home against Air Force.

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

UNLV interim coach Todd Simon said the only thing he’s worried about heading into tonight’s game is the first four minutes. Once the Rebels get through that first break they’ll figure out the next, and then the next, viewing Simon’s debut as a set of 10 rounds in which they’re trying to win at least six.

Taking large tasks like the final 15 games of this regular season and boiling them down to bite-sized chunks is one way that Simon has attempted to get organized after a crazy 48 hours during which Dave Rice was pushed out and Simon was pushed in. UNLV (9-7, 0-3) made the change midway through the season, and the second half starts tonight at 7 as the Rebels host streaking New Mexico (10-6, 3-0) at the Thomas & Mack Center on CBS Sports Network.

Simon, who’s in his third year on the staff, said most of the personnel will remain relatively the same, including the same starters (Pat McCaw, Jerome Seagears, Derrick Jones Jr., Dwayne Morgan, Stephen Zimmerman Jr.) tonight. Some of what’s going to change is a continuation of recent tweaks, particularly more full-court pressure defense and quick trips to the bench for careless turnovers.

The Rebels feel that if they can start things by fixing their turnovers — 19 per game in conference play — then a lot of the rest of the issues with their offensive droughts can fall into place. Doing that will require something much better than what McCaw, Seagears and Zimmerman have done at that end lately, and soon we’ll start to see a glimpse of how different, if at all, Simon’s Rebels can be.

Prediction: I think the Rebels will get a boost of energy tonight, but not enough to cover the 5- to 6-point game. UNLV 74, New Mexico 70

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