UNLV trounces Wyoming; Rebels to play Utah on Thursday in MWC tournament
Tre'Von Willis scored 20 points to lead UNLV to a 74-56 victory over Wyoming this afternoon.
Willis had nine rebounds and shot 9 of 15 from the field.
UNLV (23-7, 11-5 Mountain West) is the No. 3 seed in next week's conference tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Rebels play sixth-seeded Utah in the final game of the first round on Thursday night.
Chace Stanback had 13 points and nine rebounds for the Rebels.
Desmar Jackson led the Cowboys (10-20, 3-13) with 21 points, 16 in the second half. Djibril Thiam added 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Amath M'Baye had 13 points.
Wyoming, which has lost nine of its last 10 games, is the No. 8 seed in the tournament and faces No. 9 Air Force in the opening round on Wednesday afternoon.
The Rebels led 44-23 at intermission, thanks in part to to 16 Wyoming turnovers. Willis had 13 points in the first half.
UNLV's second-half lead never got below 16.
For the game, the Rebels shot 31 of 63 (49 percent) from the floor, while the Cowboys were 21 of 51 (41 percent) and finished with 19 turnovers.
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BOX SCORE
WYOMING (10-20)
Dermody 0-1 0-0 0, Thiam 6-10 0-3 13, Waddell 0-4 1-2 1, Luster 0-2 0-0 0, Jackson 7-14 7-13 21, Bouedo 0-6 0-0 0, M'Baye 5-8 2-2 13, Sylla 0-0 0-0 0, Harrison 3-6 1-2 8. Totals 21-51 11-22 56.
UNLV (23-7)
Stanback 5-12 0-0 13, Santee 4-6 1-2 9, Bellfield 2-7 2-3 7, Marshall 3-3 0-0 6, Willis 9-15 1-1 20, Wallace 3-10 0-0 8, Norman 0-1 0-0 0, Massamba 1-2 1-2 3, Jones 1-3 0-0 2, Hawkins 3-4 0-0 6, Shaw 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-63 5-8 74.
Halftime: UNLV 44-23. 3-Point Goals: Wyoming 3-19 (Thiam 1-2, M'Baye 1-3, Harrison 1-4, Dermody 0-1, Luster 0-2, Jackson 0-2, Bouedo 0-5), UNLV 7-24 (Stanback 3-7, Wallace 2-7, Willis 1-4, Bellfield 1-5, Norman 0-1). Fouled Out: Wallace. Rebounds: Wyoming 32 (Thiam 13), UNLV 39 (Stanback 9). Assists: Wyoming 6 (Jackson, Luster, Thiam 2), UNLV 23 (Bellfield 8). Total Fouls: Wyoming 8, UNLV 20. Attendance: 14,116.
