Defense fails Rebels on the road

LOGAN, Utah — As fatigue and frustration started to hit, UNLV forward Chris Wood shouted at a referee and got hit with a technical foul. It was deserved, as was the whipping delivered to his team.

The wheels fell off the Rebels on the defensive end of the floor Tuesday night, and the result was a technical knockout in their first double-digit loss of the Mountain West season.

“Defensive breakdowns came back to bite us,” freshman forward Dwayne Morgan said.

Chris Smith scored 20 points and played a role in a 3-point shooting barrage as Utah State blew out UNLV 83-65 before 9,503 at the Smith Spectrum.

Morgan and Patrick McCaw scored 13 points apiece for the Rebels (15-13, 6-9). Wood, who finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, drew a tech with 4:24 remaining and UNLV trailing by 16. The game was over by that point.

The Aggies (17-10, 10-5) shot 54.4 percent from the field — 58.6 percent in the second half — and connected on 11 of 20 3-pointers. David Collette and Darius Perkins each had 17 points, and Jalen Moore added 16 points.

Perkins, Smith and Moore combined to hit 10 of 14 3s despite the Rebels’ intentions of limiting long-range shot attempts. Collette, a talented 6-foot-8-inch freshman forward, was unstoppable in the paint while shooting 7-for-7.

“We just simply didn’t get the job done in terms of executing our game plan,” UNLV coach Dave Rice said. “We were missing shots in the second half and it really affected our execution on the defensive end.”

The Rebels were solid for 20 minutes, taking a 38-35 lead to halftime, but the meltdown was sudden. Smith scored the first five points in the Aggies’ 9-0 run to open the second half.

“I thought we were in a great position at halftime,” Rice said. “I told the guys the first four minutes of the second half would have a huge bearing on the outcome of the game. I thought we settled for a few too many quick shots.”

A 3-pointer by Smith put Utah State up 55-44 with 12 minutes to play. Morgan made some timely shots to pull UNLV closer. But the Rebels slipped into a lackadaisical haze in defensive transition and allowed Collette to get loose for a fast-break dunk at the nine-minute mark.

The Aggies blew it open with a 14-2 run before Wood, frustrated by not drawing foul calls near the basket, started shouting to earn the technical foul.

“That’s absolutely inexcusable,” said Rice, who got his first tech in four years in a win at New Mexico on Saturday. “That’s not representative of what we want to have happen.”

Rice was unhappy with Wood’s behavior toward the refs and how he handled Utah State’s rough play with him in the paint.

“When they double Chris, he’s got to do a better job of making plays out of the post,” Rice said. They were extremely physical with Chris, and that’s the way to play him. It’s a sign of respect. You’ve got to learn to deal with it and be physical and tough.”

Wood, who was not made available to the media after the game, shot 4-for-14 and had four turnovers.

Senior guard Jelan Kendrick was off target, too, shooting 2-for-12, including 1-for-6 on 3s.

Freshman forward Goodluck Okonoboh (10 points, five rebounds, two blocks) was strong in the low post until fading in the second half, when UNLV unraveled on both ends.

“I would have to agree with Coach. They ran a lot of sets and they beat us up pretty good with them,” said senior point guard Cody Doolin, who finished with eight points and four assists. “We were trying to throw a knockout punch or throw haymakers instead of trying to grind it out.”

Morgan said “our energy” was part of the problem after halftime, and it was obvious the Rebels were fatigued after playing in Albuquerque three days earlier.

“They got worn down at the end, and I like to think we were a part of that,” said Stew Morrill, who won his 401st game as Utah State coach.

Morrill and the Aggies got payback for a 79-77 overtime loss in Las Vegas on Jan. 24.

This time, there was no miracle comeback. Morgan was the bright spot for UNLV, shooting 6-for-6 and scoring nine of his 13 points in the second half to keep the game from getting away sooner.

“I played good, but that really doesn’t mean anything,” Morgan said. “This is not us, and we know that. We’re going to leave this game in the past because we know this is not our team.”

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.