McCoy’s double-double powers UNLV to 76-67 victory over San Jose State
UNLV unveiled a new pregame show Wednesday in which the Thomas & Mack Center court was lit up with a three-dimensional projection.
Then the basketball game began, and the Rebels’ Brandon McCoy showed he was more than ready for the big stage.
San Jose State made UNLV work for its victory, but behind McCoy’s 22 points, 17 rebounds and three blocked shots, the Rebels led most of the way before winning 76-67.
UNLV coach Marvin Menzies praised McCoy’s maturity and self-control. “(Opponents) are throwing everything and the kitchen sink at that kid,” Menzies said.
It was a much-needed victory for the Rebels (16-6, 5-4 Mountain West), who have trips coming up against the conference’s two best teams — Boise State on Saturday and UNR next Wednesday.
“They’re doing special promotions and trying to sell tickets,” Menzies said of Boise State. “The Rebels are coming to town. We embrace that. We want that. We’ve got to get our swag about how we play this game, and I think we need to get a higher level of intensity, passion and enthusiasm when the ball goes up.”
To get the win over San Jose State (3-18, 0-10), UNLV didn’t quite have to sweat it out like the Rebels did Jan. 3 when the teams met in the Bay Area. UNLV survived with an 82-76 overtime victory that night.
For much of the rematch it wasn’t easy. UNLV slowly pulled away down the stretch. It used a 9-2 run late in the second half to take a 70-55 lead and were never seriously threatened after that.
“That team has had a string of bad luck,” Menzies said of San Jose State. “They’re playing people to seven points, eight points. They’re going to get over the hump eventually, and I’m just glad it wasn’t against us.”
McCoy had his second straight outstanding performance. He totaled 21 points and seven rebounds in Saturday’s 88-78 victory over San Diego State. Combined with this game, it served as a strong response after a series of disappointing play by his lofty standards.
“I went into film with Coach Menzies, and he was showing me there were four people guarding me,” McCoy said. “He told me to slow down and trust my teammates, and they’ve been giving me the ball and trusting me with the ball.”
In addition to McCoy, three other Rebels reached double figures against the Spartans — Jordan Johnson with 15 points, Tervell Beck with 12 and Shakur Juiston with 10. Juiston also had nine rebounds.
UNLV shot 50 percent and dominated inside, winning the rebound battle 44-24.
“We really worked hard on our rebounding in the couple of days that we had to work on it and showed extra film and talked about it and preached about it,” Menzies said. “So we had an opportunity to rectify the 18 offensive rebounds that we gave up (to San Diego State) and also learn that we need to learn to attack the glass. We sent three guys to the glass tonight.”
Ryan Welage led San Jose State with 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting.
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Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @markanderson65 on Twitter.
