Kambala, Diggs pull together for the team

ALBUQUERQUE -- After the rancor that passed between them last month, Kaspars Kambala and Trevor Diggs need each other now.

And they're both playing like it.

Like the Rebels' other four seniors, Kambala and Diggs are only four games from the end of their UNLV careers, and they'll be down to three after tonight's game against New Mexico.

Though the flare-up between Kambala and Diggs on Jan. 15 at BYU has seemed to have a positive effect on the team, their cooperation grew even more vital Friday after UNLV's postseason ban was upheld by the NCAA Infractions Appeals Committee.

As the team's most prominent leaders, Kambala and Diggs now realize they must do more than just get along on the court. They have to work together to set a competitive tone if the Rebels are to continue striving for their only remaining goal -- the Mountain West regular-season title.

With a 6-4 MWC record, that's still a long shot, but if Saturday's 86-78 win at Air Force was an indication of fresh resolve by the Rebels, they could play a role greater than spoiler in the final two weeks.

In Saturday's first nine minutes, it was Kambala and Diggs who sparked UNLV to a 22-9 lead that weathered an extended rally by Air Force.

Of Diggs' eight assists, four resulted in Kambala layups, three in the first half. On two other Kambala baskets in the early going, Diggs fed him in the low post, but wasn't credited with assists.

With the NCAA ruling fresh in everybody's mind, it was as if Kambala and Diggs wanted to set the right example, to snap the team to attention, to make it clear that no half-measures would be tolerated just because the Rebels are banned from postseason play.

"Trev was really looking for me and that set the tone," Kambala said. "He and I are seniors and we want to finish strong. We want to show that we're going to go out with some pride."

Diggs said, "We all want the best for each other as teammates. When the appeal (failed), there was nothing we could do except keep playing. I'm sure people thought we were going to fold the tent, but we don't want to go out that way."

"Trevor got us going by feeding Kas and helping him get established," coach Max Good said. "Those two are going out of their way to play well together, and I'm so proud of them."

The current ease between Kambala and Diggs is far different than their relationship after the BYU incident. That was when Kambala was benched and didn't participate in timeouts in the final minutes of a 91-63 loss on ESPN.

Afterward, Diggs said Kambala had quit on his teammates.

Even after Good met with them seperately, Kambala and Diggs were in no hurry to swap Valentines. Diggs said he only used the wrong forum for his criticism, and Kambala said, "We don't have to necessarily like each other to play together."

Good gave both players time to ponder their words and actions, benching them for the first half of the next game against New Mexico, an 80-72 UNLV victory on Jan. 22.

But a funny thing happened on the Rebels' apparent road to ruin. As they had vowed, Kambala and Diggs have reacted well to the flare-up, showing no lack of cooperation on the court, and UNLV has gone 5-3 since BYU.

Of Diggs' 35 assists in that span, 17 have gone to Kambala. That speaks not only to Diggs' willingness to pass him the ball, but to Kambala's rejuvenation. In the last six games, the center has averaged 19.2 points and 9.2 rebounds and played with admirable energy.

"Kas is a great player and I'm going to get him the ball," Diggs said. "It's not like I'm not going to throw it to him (because of the incident). I'm still going to look for him, and he's passing to me out of the post."

Diggs said he and Kambala finally discussed the events at BYU and smoothed things over.

"We're cool," Diggs said. "We're both competitors. He shot some breeze at me and I shot some breeze at him. We don't have any problem."

Kambala scored 24 points against Air Force and leapfrogged Larry Johnson and Anderson Hunt into 10th place on the Rebels' career scoring list. Kambala reached the milestone -- 1,633 points -- on a layup with 4:51 to play.

Who fed him the ball? Trevor Diggs.

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