UNLV Cancels game against Cal Poly-SLO

There'll be no trip to the Central California coast for UNLV this year as the Rebels will pay Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo to cancel their Dec. 5 scheduled game.

When UNLV agreed last week to play Arizona State on that date in Phoenix at America West Arena, it created a conflict with Cal Poly-SLO. The schools couldn't come up with a suitable replacement date and the Rebels invoked a buyout clause in the contract.

UNLV, which is receiving $50,000 to play ASU on Fox, will pay Cal Poly $20,000. So the Rebels will net $30,000 on the switch.

"We tried to find a suitable date, but we couldn't," Cal Poly athletic director John McCutcheon said Tuesday. "I talked to (UNLV AD) Charlie Cavagnaro and he gave us the option of postponing the series a year, but we decided to exercise the buyout."

There was talk that UNLV might drop the Sacred Heart game instead. But coach Bill Bayno wanted to open the season against his alma mater. So the season still will begin Nov. 14 at the Thomas & Mack Center against the Division II Pioneers.

"We understand their point of view," McCutcheon said of UNLV's commitment to play on national TV against a Pac-10 opponent. "It's just unfortunate we couldn't work things out."

McCutcheon said he talked to Cal Poly coach Jeff Schneider about the decision and Schneider accepted it. Last week, Schneider wasn't happy about the prospect of losing what would arguably would have been the biggest home game in school history.

But after talking to his AD, Schneider backed off that stand.

"He understands," McCutcheon said. "It was going to be a big game for us. But we'll look in a different direction."

Hoop du jour

* EURO-REBELS: There may not be any NBA season on the horizon, but the pro leagues in Europe are gearing up for the start of play in August. Two former Rebels, Patrick Savoy and Clayton Johnson, are headed over the pond to play. Savoy, who has bounced around the CBA and came close to making the NBA's Miami Heat a couple of years ago, will be playing in Belgium. Johnson is headed for Germany.

* CIRCUS MOVES ON: The traveling road show that is the summer basketball season has left Las Vegas for now and has put down roots in Southern California and Florida. Coach Bill Bayno and assistants Glynn Cyprien and Greg Vetrone will be spending this week at the Pump N Run camp in Dominguez Hills, Calif., and the Slam 'n Jam tournament in Long Beach along with the Nike Invitational in Orlando, Fla. The month-long evaluation period for recruiting ends next Friday as the UNLV coaches come home to catch some of the Grand Finale in Las Vegas.

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