Hawkins’ 3s power Rebels to comeback

PORTLAND, Ore. - In danger of getting upset on the road, UNLV escaped trouble only after senior guard Justin Hawkins turned into a hot-handed shooter in a zone.

"One of our shooters was going to get hot, and luckily it was me," he said.

Hawkins hit four 3-pointers in the second half, and the 21st-ranked Rebels rallied from a horrific offensive start for a 68-60 comeback victory over Portland on Tuesday night.

Anthony Bennett scored 18 points and Anthony Marshall 16 for UNLV (6-1). Hawkins finished with 15 points, all in the second half, and his timing was impeccable.

"We came out flat. We didn't hit anything in the first half," Hawkins said. "We knew our offense was going to kick in sooner or later."

The Rebels played without junior forward Mike Moser, the team's No. 2 scorer and leading rebounder. Moser was dressed for his homecoming game, but he was wearing blue jeans and a black sweater.

Bothered by a strained left hip, Moser was declared out about an hour before the game. He did not practice Sunday or Monday and said athletic trainer Dave Tomchek advised him to sit out.

"It's not that bad. I think I could give it a go tonight, but I got overruled," Moser said.

UNLV coach Dave Rice called it a "collaborative decision" between Moser and Tomchek.

"I was disappointed for Mike, and particularly for his family, because we had set this game up for him," Rice said of Moser, Oregon's Mr. Basketball at Grant High School in Portland in 2009.

Rice was even more disappointed in his team's offensive approach and execution in the first 20 minutes.

Bennett took it upon himself to keep the Rebels in a game they were heavily favored to win. The freshman forward scored his team's first seven points and totaled 11, but UNLV shot as if the lights were turned off in the Chiles Center and trailed the Pilots 28-22 at halftime.

Bennett opened with a dunk and a 3-pointer. But Ryan Nicholas' jumper in the lane put Portland up 15-7 with 11:54 left, and no Rebels player other than Bennett scored until Anthony Marshall hit two free throws with 9:42 to go in the half.

The Rebels shot 8-for-33 (24.2 percent) from the field, including 1-for-15 from 3-point range, before halftime.

"We panicked a little bit in the first half and took a few too many quick, semi-contested shots," Rice said. "Our half-court defense kept us within striking distance when our offense was anemic."

UNLV charged back to take a 52-47 lead on a Hawkins 3 with 11:27 remaining. Hawkins hit three 3s in a 3½-minute span to dig the Rebels out of a nine-point deficit.

"Our guys did a good job of finding Bennett in the first half and finding Hawkins in the second half, and that's what good teams do," Rice said.

The Rebels were getting favorable whistles early in the second half. Portland picked up 10 team fouls to UNLV's two in the first seven minutes, much to the dismay of Pilots coach Eric Reveno and several angry home fans in the crowd of 3,057.

Portland refused to be put away, but Katin Reinhardt's baseline jumper gave the Rebels a 65-60 lead with 2:55 to go, and they held on for an ugly road win.

UNLV made 18 of 29 free throws, compared with the Pilots' 5-for-9.

Ryan Nicholas finished with 15 points and 19 rebounds for Portland (3-5).

Senior forward Quintrell Thomas (nine points, seven rebounds) started in place of Moser, who missed a game for the first time in his two seasons at UNLV.

"I'm pretty sure I'll be good for Sunday," Moser said.

The Rebels have a tougher road test at California on deck Sunday.

"It was a great experience for our young guys to play on the road," Rice said.

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