Rebel Report Card: UNLV vs. Boise State

Style of play is everything for the UNLV men's basketball team. The Rebels were forced to play a slow-it-down pace against a rugged UNR team on Saturday. UNLV, like it has all season, struggled in the half court offense and ultimately fell to the Wolf Pack. On Wednesday, the Rebels did what they do best: run, play defense, run some more. Behind a clutch performance from Patrick McCaw, UNLV rallied in the second half to defeat Boise State 87-77 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Backcourt: A

McCaw has been found. After a long funk, McCaw broke out in a big way. The sophomore guard exploded in the second half, scoring 19 points for a game-high total of 25.

McCaw, who went 0 for 6 from 3-point range against UNR, hit 5 of 6 versus the Broncos. He nailed a 30-footer to close out the game and put the UNLV fans on their feet.

"That was big time," said coach Todd Simon about McCaw's long-range 3. McCaw sustained a cramp after the shot. "Knocking down that Steph Curry 30-footer, his body told him that was enough for the night."

McCaw did more than enough. UNLV (13-8, 4-4 Mountain West) regained the lead 55-53 on a McCaw 3-pointer with 9:51 left. Soon after, McCaw got back-to-back steals that he converted into four points.

That sequence turned the momentum and the outcome of the game.

Jerome Seagears contributed nine points and recorded five assists. He made key shots at crucial times.

Frontcourt: B+

Stephen Zimmerman Jr. started the second-half rally by scoring six of the Rebels' first 10 points. The freshman center scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds.

Zimmerman didn't record a block, mainly because he was chasing Boise State's Nick Duncan around the perimeter, which led to a lot of easy layups for the Broncos in the the first half.

Derrick Jones Jr. kept the Rebels in the game during the first half. His acrobatic dunks and energy plays were a boost for UNLV. The freshman forward scored 17 points, but went 5 for 11 from the charity stripe.

Dwayne Morgan only scored two points and played nine minutes due to foul trouble.

Bench: C+

The UNLV bench only scored 16 points, but received a key contribution from Ben Carter.

Carted filled in for Morgan and scored clutch baskets inside and controlled the paint on the other end in the second half. Carter, who scored 10 points and had 11 rebounds, gave Boise State plenty of trouble in the post.

Ike Nwamu scored six points in 17 minutes for UNLV.

Coaching: B

The half court issues showed up in the first half, but credit goes to Simon for getting Zimmerman going to open the second half. The easy baskets trimmed the Broncos' eight-point advantage.

The jury is still out on Simon's Xs and Os as a coach, but that's a debate for another day. McCaw lifted the team and pushed the pace with his transition offense. When McCaw is having a good night, the team follows.

If Simon can get the best from McCaw every night, this team can win come conference tournament time.

— Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow him on Twitter: @gmanzano24