Green Valley product White keys Aztecs’ win

By MATT YOUMANS

SAN DIEGO -- Each time Billy White dunked, he was putting exclamation points on a victory over an opponent he relishes beating.

White dunked three times and scored 19 points as San Diego State dominated UNLV 68-58 before a crowd of 9,224 at Viejas Arena.

It was not just another game to White, a Green Valley High School graduate. The 6-foot-8-inch junior forward turned down an opportunity to play for the Rebels three years ago, and he reminded everyone of that Saturday.

"A lot of people ask me why I didn't go to UNLV. I chose to go here," White said. "It does mean a lot to me personally every time I play them. It gives me a lot more fight.

"We just wanted this game real, real bad."

The Rebels (19-6, 7-4) failed to show a similar sense of urgency and dropped into a tie for third with the Aztecs (18-7, 7-4) in the Mountain West Conference.

UNLV traveled to San Diego on a bus, and coach Lon Kruger refused to throw any of his players under it after the defeat. He said the effort and energy he saw was sufficient.

Sophomore guard Oscar Bellfield was more critical.

"We're just not knocking down shots, and really not coming out there with a lot of enthusiasm and energy. It's something we really need to work on," Bellfield said. "It's a matter of focus, and coming out and focusing hard. We really didn't take care of business from the start."

Sophomore forward Chace Stanback, who missed all seven of his field-goal attempts, said UNLV's intensity was lacking.

"I feel like we just weren't prepared for the fight," he said. "We weren't all on the same page, just like the New Mexico game."

The Rebels, who moved into The Associated Press poll at No. 23 last week, will drop from the rankings after suffering their second 10-point loss in four days.

In a 76-66 home defeat to 15th-ranked New Mexico on Wednesday, UNLV was haunted by Darington Hobson, the Lobos' leader and a native of Las Vegas. White said Hobson called him after that game and challenged White to also knock off their hometown team.

White dunked in transition to put the Aztecs ahead 18-13 midway through the first half. They stretched their lead to 26-17 on Kawhi Leonard's 3-pointer.

The Rebels cut a 33-25 halftime deficit to 35-32 before Bellfield missed a 3-pointer. White made two free throws, and San Diego State began slowly building the lead to double digits.

Kruger lamented UNLV's inability to get "over the hump" and said, "They were attacking us and driving the ball at us early. We needed guys to step up and win battles."

White dunked over Stanback to put the Aztecs up 56-44 with 5:48 left. After a Stanback turnover and a missed jumper by Tre'Von Willis, White dunked again to put the game away with three minutes left.

Willis scored 17 points, 15 in the second half. Willis and Stanback, the Rebels' top scorers, combined to shoot 5-for-22, including 1-for-8 on 3-pointers.

"Stanback is not quite a 3-point shooter, but he's a deadly shooter from 15 to 18 feet. We didn't let him get clean looks," said Aztecs coach Steve Fisher, who credited Leonard's defense for helping to put the clamps on Willis.

Leonard, a freshman, had 13 points and 14 rebounds, and guards D.J. Gay and Chase Tapley each supplied 11 points for San Diego State.

"I think people are doubting us," said White, who was held to five points in a 76-66 loss at UNLV on Jan. 13. "But it's not a fluke that we're beating ranked teams. We think we can hang with any team in the country.

"They tried to go with a stronger lineup, and I noticed they put a freshman into the lineup. But we used our size to our advantage."

Kruger started freshman guard Anthony Marshall to try to combat the Aztecs' superior athleticism. The move helped to some extent, as Marshall produced 12 points in his second career start.

"Every loss is disappointing. We can't accept losing," Marshall said. "We've got a long bus ride home, and everybody will be thinking about it. But we can't get our heads held down."

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.

San Diego State 68
UNLV 58

UNLV Min FG-A FT-A R A PF TP

Stanback 29 0-7 4-4 4 2 5 4

Massamba 11 3-4 0-1 1 0 3 6

Bellfield 32 2-9 0-0 5 3 1 6

Marshall 28 3-4 6-8 2 0 5 12

Willis 38 5-15 6-8 3 5 2 17

Wallace 15 1-2 0-0 0 0 1 2

Jones 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0

Hawkins 8 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 0

Shaw 22 3-6 1-2 7 0 2 7

Santee 14 2-5 0-0 0 0 2 4

TOTALS 200 19-54 17-23 30 11 23 58

Field goals--35.2%. Free throws--73.9%.

Three-point goals--3-17, .176 (Bellfield 2-7, Willis 1-5, Shaw 0-1, Wallace 0-1, Stanback 0-3). Team rebounds--8. Blocked shots--3 (Shaw, Marshall, Stanback). Turnovers--14 (Willis 3, Stanback 3, Marshall 3, Bellfield 2, Shaw 2, Massamba). Steals--7 (Marshall 3, Stanback, Hawkins, Willis, Massamba).

SAN DIEGO ST. Min FG-A FT-A R A PF TP

Thomas 31 1-4 2-2 5 4 2 4

Leonard 35 6-10 0-2 14 1 4 13

White 33 5-10 9-11 5 2 4 19

Tapley 28 4-7 2-4 5 1 2 11

Gay 34 1-7 8-10 3 3 2 11

Shelley 15 1-4 0-0 1 2 1 2

Carlwell 10 0-0 2-2 2 0 3 2

Davis 14 2-5 0-0 2 1 1 6

TOTALS 200 20-47 23-31 39 14 19 68

Field goals--42.6%. Free throws--74.2%.

Three-point goals--5-14, .357 (Davis 2-5, Tapley 1-1, Gay 1-2, Leonard 1-3, Shelley 0-1, White 0-2). Team rebounds--2. Blocked shots--9 (Thomas 4, White 2, Tapley, Carlwell, Shelley). Turnovers--18 (Tapley 4, White 4, Leonard 2, Carlwell 2, Davis 2, Gay 2). Steals--9 (Thomas 4, Tapley 3, White, Shelley).

A--9,224. Officials--Mike Littlewood, Dan Chrisman, Jimmy Casas. Technical fouls--None.

UNLV 25 33 -- 58

San Diego State 33 35 -- 68X