UNLV played its second game of the season last night, versus its little brother to the north, UNR. Nevada is a pretty decent school in both major sports, probably the best basketball squad in the WAC, and certainly somebody to be reckoned with. Plus, they have a McDonalds All-American big man forward in Luke Babbitt and super quick mad skills having PG in Armon Johnson. Having only played Pittsburgh St so far this year, I was amped to see how the Rebels would perform against competition a bit more up to snuff.
Game started out slow, with Nevada controlling much of the first half, leading by 5 at halftime. Tre’Von Willis was in foul trouble and on the bench before I even sat down, and Nevada was in the bonus with like 11 mins left. Coach was into the game, players seemed amped up, but every time they got a stop or made a big basket, Nevada’s Joey Shaw or Brandon Fields would nail some sick 3 pointer and squash the attempted come back. That’s fine. The second half was all UNLV. On their way to scoring 55 points after the break, UNLV dismantled UNR with a high pressure full court press, on the ball defense, and an offense I have never seen UNLV play since I’ve been going to the games. Oscar Bellfield, Tre’Von Willis, Derek Jasper, etc etc. Even two freshmen stepped up and made HUGE contributions on both ends of the floor in the second half. Both Anthony Marshall and Justin Hawkins combined for 22 points and 10 rebounds, coming off the bench. Hawkins drew a key charge on an out of bounds play during the UNLV comeback, after sinking a 3, and before slicing through the lain for a finger roll that your mother would be proud of. Last man of note for me was Brice Massamba. UNLV has been big man challenged over the past couple years. This year, the three headed monster of Brice, Darius Santee, and Brian Shaw, looks to be able to hold down the paint. Massamba was a beast going after the offensive glass, hitting a couple put backs, and most importantly, sinking his FT’s when he was fouled and sent to the line.
Overall, the atmosphere at the Thomas and Mack was awesome. The place was loud, and everybody was into the game. This is game 2 of 50 for me, and it was a great one. UNLV 88, Nevada 75.
Looking ahead, UNLV hosts MVC stalwart Southern Illinois, and then Holy Cross next week Wednesday. Tough competition will help these guys gel and get ready for the conference schedule. So far so good though, these guys are coming together well, and with the talent on this team, it should only get better.
