As promised, UNLV Rebels are out runnin’ in Bahamas

NASSAU, Bahamas —At his introductory news conference in April, UNLV coach Marvin Menzies said his basketball team would live up to the nickname Runnin’ Rebels.

The Rebels certainly didn’t walk the ball up the court in their first two games at the Summer of Thunder exhibition series at Sir Kendal Isaacs Gym.

They ran at every opportunity in Tuesday’s 106-85 victory over the CTG Knights of the Bahamas Basketball Federation. The pace was similar to two days prior in an 80-79 loss to Toronto, but the Rebels didn’t execute nearly as well in that game.

“I think if you have the talent to do it, (high tempo is) the way we want to play,” Menzies said. “Now we’re kind of finding out who we recruited, what they’re capable of, what combinations are going to be the best. A lot of things are going to lend into how fast they can play. That’s the goal, but we don’t want to play so reckless that we’re turning the ball over 29 times, either.”

Which was UNLV’s total against the Knights. The Rebels, who conclude the tour at 2 p.m. Thursday against the Providence (Bahamas) Storm, have committed 51 turnovers in their two games.

“I thought we did some really good things offensively when we were playing within ourselves,” Menzies said. “We got outside our box a lot of times by throwing the ball away (and committing) careless turnovers.

“A lot of unforced turnovers is a little concerning, but I think that’s (repetitions) and getting some work in the gym on that.”

Jalen Poyser started at point guard for the second game in a row, but Menzies said he was still evaluating the position. Three other players also received chances to play that spot.

Regardless of whether Poyser starts, he still is expected to be a big contributor, so this tour in the Bahamas has been a major benefit for him to be able to run the offense and push the pace. He finished with 17 points, but also six turnovers and two assists.

“Pushing the ball, we have more fun,” Poyser said. “We share the ball more. A lot of guys touched the ball, and we got a lot of transition buckets.

“We’ve got to learn from our mistakes. It’s better to make mistakes now than when the season starts.”

Playing at a high tempo was one of the reasons sophomore junior college transfer Kris Clyburn signed with the Rebels. He showed what he could do against the Knights, leading the Rebels with 21 points and grabbing eight rebounds.

Clyburn, a 6-foot-6-inch guard, made 8 of 10 shots on a combination of drives to the basket and outside shots.

“That’s the type of team that I like to be a part of, push the pace and get easy points first,” Clyburn said. “Then everything else will settle in.”

Pushing tempo is a team-wide effort.

Even 6-7 forward Christian Jones, who is the Rebels’ main big man until 6-11 Cheickna Dembele is approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse, had four assists to go with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Menzies made a promise in April to play fast. He appears to be sticking by it.

“People want us to play that way,” Menzies said. “I want to play that way. Our staff wants to play that way. So I’ve got to train (the players) that way.

“I don’t think people understand how valuable this (trip) is. This is really great intel going into September. We’re going to be eons ahead of the game with all the newness.”

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