Hawkins, Moser let out stride as No. 18 UNLV rolls

With the way senior guard Justin Hawkins played Saturday night, he might never get back into UNLV's starting lineup. And that's a compliment.

Hawkins started the game on the bench before showing why coach Dave Rice considers him to be more valuable as a sixth man.

Junior forward Mike Moser displayed why he's arguably the team's most valuable player, in case anyone had forgotten.

Moser finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Hawkins had 16 points as the 18th-ranked Rebels jumped on Jacksonville State early en route to a 77-58 win at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"We're a deep team, and I feel like anybody can go off on any given night," Hawkins said. "With all of our weapons, we just play together."

Freshman forward Anthony Bennett totaled 12 points and nine rebounds for the Rebels (2-0). Anthony Marshall and Katin Reinhardt added 11 apiece.

Hawkins, who started and scored only five points in UNLV's season-opening blowout of Northern Arizona, shot 5-for-9 from the field and made two 3-pointers in his usual role as a reserve.

"I love Justin off the bench," Rice said. "He accepts any role I ask of him. He's so important to our basketball team."

Rice started sophomore Bryce Dejean-Jones in place of Hawkins, and Dejean-Jones contributed eight points in 25 minutes.

"I just do whatever the team needs me to do," said Hawkins, who was on the floor for 27 minutes.

Moser, the Rebels' leading scorer and rebounder last season, was held to two points in Monday's opener. He topped that output in 15 seconds Saturday. Rice designed a play for Moser on the game's first possession and he made a 3-pointer.

"I think more opportunities just opened up to me," said Moser, who hit 6 of 12 shots and 6 of 7 free throws. "I approached it the same way as the first game."

The Gamecocks (3-1) held the ball for around 20 seconds on several possessions and deliberately ran their offense to prevent UNLV from forcing a fast tempo.

"Thank goodness there's a shot clock in college basketball," Rice said. "People are concerned about our ability to play in offensive transition."

The Rebels were ragged offensively for most of the first half, committing 11 turnovers on the way to a 32-14 lead. The game was only briefly competitive after halftime.

Darion Rackley's 3-pointer pulled Jacksonville State within 62-51 with 5:44 remaining. The Rebels answered with a short jumper by Moser and a three-point play by Marshall.

UNLV shot 5-for-19 (26.3 percent) from 3-point range and had 19 turnovers in a less-than-pretty performance.

"There are going to be nights when we don't make shots and there are going to be nights when we don't quite have it on the offensive end," Rice said. "But the one thing that's constant is our defense."

Moser's offensive aggression was back to normal, however, and Rice tried to set that tone from the start.

"Mike's attitude was terrific this week," Rice said. "He practiced extremely hard, and I think he set a great example for our guys."

The game was part of the eight-team Global Sports Classic, which includes Oregon, Cincinnati and Iowa State and continues Friday and Saturday at the Thomas & Mack.

"One of the things this team desperately needs is game experience," Rice said, "and good games and tough games are coming up very soon."

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