Bayno recognized for fund-raising efforts

On the basketball court, UNLV may not be a top-10 team yet. But when it comes to fund-raising, the Rebels are among the nation's elite.

Coach Bill Bayno, a member of the "Coaches Vs. Cancer" project, raised just under $25,000 in conjunction with Southern Nevada Applebee's restaurants. The total of $24,592.25 placed Bayno sixth among the hundreds of coaches who took part in the nationwide effort. Minnesota's Clem Haskins led the way with $55,936.40.

"I think it says a lot about Las Vegas and Applebee's that people care enough about Rebel basketball and supporting a great cause," Bayno said. "We've all been affected by cancer. I recently lost an aunt and a few years ago, an uncle of mine died from cancer, so it really hits home."

The campaign, which was called "Giving Kids A Shot," saw participating Applebee's donate a portion of sales from selected menu items. The goal was $500,000 but at last year's Final Four, a check for $1 million was presented to the National Association of Basketball Coaches and the American Cancer Society, partners in Coaches Vs. Cancer.

Former UNLV coach Rollie Massimino, now at Cleveland State, raked in the ninth-most donations. Massimino's efforts raised $17,926.50.

Other WAC coaches who participated and made the top 25 were New Mexico's Dave Bliss (14th with $14,882) and former Colorado State coach Stew Morrill (17th with $13,490).

* FOURTH TEAM FOUND: It looks like UNLV is going to honor its commitment to the Food Lion MVP Classic in Charlotte, N.C., Dec. 3-4. The tournament, which needed to find a replacement for South Carolina after the Gamecocks opted not to renew their 10-year commitment to the event, will feature the College of Charleston along with UNLV, North Carolina and Princeton.

And while the pairings haven't been set, Bayno said Tuesday it appeared UNLV may be matched with Princeton instead of the eagerly anticipated game with North Carolina.

"That's what I'm hearing," he said, noting nothing has been finalized. "But we're definitely going."

UNLV and College of Charleston have never met. But Bayno went up against John Kresse's team when Bayno was an assistant at Baptist College in Charleston back in 1987.

In case you haven't noticed, Charleston is 22-2, leads the Southern Conference with a perfect 13-0 mark and is ranked No. 20 in the nation in this week's Associated Press poll.

* FINAL HOMESTAND: For a team that has been virtually invincible on its home court, the schedule couldn't have broken worse for Rice. The Owls, who are 11-1 at Autry Court, play their final two games in their own building Thursday against Air Force and Saturday against UNLV.

At 5-4 (14-7 overall), Willis Wilson's team is part of a four-way logjam for second place in the Mountain Division. If the Owls intend to remain part of the chase for the top two spots, they must hold serve this week. The rest of the docket has games at Tulsa, TCU and SMU, where Rice hasn't won since 1996 when it narrowly defeated SMU, 71-70 in Dallas during its final year in the Southwestern Conference.

* HOOP DU JOUR: Mark Dickel said he was feeling much better and took his regular turn on the floor during Tuesday's practice at the North Gym. Despite feeling sick, Dickel logged 35 minutes in Saturday's 65-64 win at Air Force. ... As of Tuesday, UNLV was ranked 52 in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). The Rebels still were in the mock field of 64 picked by RPI guru Jerry Palm. He has UNLV as a No. 10 seed in the Midwest Regional in Milwaukee, playing Missouri in the first round. Palm updates his bracket every 3-4 days. ... Despite being one of the WAC's hottest teams, UNLV still has yet to have a WAC player of the week. This week, it was SMU's Willie Davis and his double-double against TCU that got picked over Rebels nominee Kevin Simmons.

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