3 takeaways from UNLV’s victory over Fullerton on Saturday

Three takeaways from the UNLV men’s basketball team’s 77-68 victory over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center:

1. It looks as if the Rebels can make their free throws.

That hasn’t always been a given with UNLV teams, but one game after going 16 for 17 from the line, the Rebels converted 26 of 32 against Fullerton. That included making all eight in the final minute as the Titans fouled to try to draw closer.

Jovan Mooring was especially hot during one late second-half stretch, making 10 of 11 from the line and scoring 12 consecutive points for the Rebels, allowing them to expand a three-point edge to a nine-point lead.

Mooring said free throws are heavily emphasized in practice, and if the Rebels continue to play tight games, being able to convert when games are on the line could help them to pick up some extra victories.

2. But rebounding is still a problem.

UNLV not only was beaten on the boards 40-27 by the Titans, but the Rebels were almost no-shows when it came to offensive rebounding.

They had only two offensive rebounds, and one of those went down as a team rebound. Tyrell Green was the only Rebel to actually pick up an offensive rebound.

“Two offensive rebounds is suspect,” UNLV coach Marvin Menzies said. “Right now, it’s a little bit of our Achilles’ heel, and we’ve got to do some things differently in practice.”

Many times, the Rebels didn’t even go after offensive rebounds. Someone would take a jump shot, and the Rebels would immediately start going back on defense as if the ball were destined to go in the basket. That often left three or four Fullerton players by themselves under the basket.

Menzies acknowledged rebounding difficulties were never a secret, but said the coaches gave the players extra responsibilities in this game that could have compounded the problem.

“We were pressing after makes tonight, and I think they were thinking about that a little more than (rebounding),” Menzies said. “We added two or three components to the game. So when you do that, you’re calling on them to be a little more attentive to the details. So maybe it caused a little slippage in that area.”

3. UNLV shows signs of being a good defensive team.

That didn’t appear to be the case in the first exhibition when the Rebels gave up 80 points to Dakota Wesleyan, an NAIA Division II school. But they have gradually improved since that game.

Against Fullerton, the Rebels held Tre’ Coggins to 17 points, 10 below his season average. He made 6 of 18 shots, including 3 of 12 from the 3-point arc.

“He still got his 17 points, but we made him work to get it,” Menzies said. “He’s a big-time player. I’m telling you, he could be the Player of the Year out of that conference, the Big West. He has that much ability.”

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.