Moser gives UNLV bit of elbow room

RENO — It was almost three months ago when a dislocated right elbow turned Mike Moser’s junior season upside down.

Expected to be UNLV’s leader, Moser instead faded into the background, watched long stretches of key games from the bench, and became a sympathetic figure of sorts while playing in the shadow of freshman star Anthony Bennett.

Finally, on Saturday afternoon, Moser’s story took a dramatic turn.

“I’ve been so up and down with my injury,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for a game to get me back in the flow, and I think this is the one that’s going to keep me going for the rest of the season.”

Moser scored a season-high 20 points, all in the first half, to lift the Rebels to an 80-63 victory over UNR at Lawlor Events Center, where 9,956 fans witnessed UNLV’s eighth straight win in the one-sided rivalry.

“I knew he was going to come back sooner or later,” said sophomore guard Bryce Dejean-Jones, who had 17 points. “It was great seeing Mike get off to a start like that. He got us going.”

Moser, a 6-foot-8-inch forward, stepped out to make two 3-pointers in the first minute of a game the Rebels led the entire way as all of their starters scored in double figures.

UNLV (22-7) improved to 9-5 in the Mountain West and enhanced its chances of claiming the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament. The Rebels are tied for second place with Colorado State after the Rams’ 78-65 loss at Boise State on Saturday night.

An injury to Bennett, UNLV’s leading scorer and rebounder, created an opening for Moser to appear in the starting lineup for the first time since Jan. 24. He wasted no time taking advantage of the opportunity, catching the Wolf Pack (12-16, 3-11) by surprise.

“We didn’t even think (Moser) was going to start. We thought Bennett was going to start,” said UNR coach David Carter, who evidently did not read — or believe — newspaper reports in Las Vegas and Reno that stated Moser was likely to start instead of Bennett. “We had hands in his face, and he still made 3s.”

The lineup change made by Rebels coach Dave Rice made a significant difference. Moser connected on three 3-pointers in the first 2½ minutes, and a 3 by Dejean-Jones put UNLV up 24-10 at the 12:12 mark.

A four-point play by Katin Reinhardt extended the lead to 30-16 at the 7:51 mark. After back-to-back layups by Moser and a jumper by Dejean-Jones, Anthony Marshall’s 3-pointer made it 39-18 with 5:22 left.

Moser made four of the Rebels’ seven 3s in the first half. He had hit a total of four 3-pointers in the team’s previous 10 games and had not scored more than 14 points in a game since November.

“Moser hit shots he hasn’t hit all year,” said Malik Story, who led the Wolf Pack with 24 points.

UNR trailed 50-25 a little more than a minute into the second half before junior guard Deonte Burton (18 points) started attacking the basket on dribble drives to cut into the deficit. Story’s 3-pointer from the top pulled the Wolf Pack within 65-54 with 7:52 to go.

But Reinhardt responded by hitting a 3 from the corner, and then he drove for a three-point play to stretch the Rebels’ lead to 71-54.

“We had defensive breakdowns, and they made us pay every time,” said Carter, whose team is on a five-game losing streak.

Reinhardt finished with 14 points, Marshall had 11 and sophomore center Khem Birch had 10 points, six rebounds and seven blocked shots. UNLV shot 48 percent from the field, including 10-for-18 on 3s, and had only nine turnovers.

Bennett came off the bench for the first time all season and recorded one point and seven rebounds in 17 minutes. He played in Moser’s shadow, for a change.

“Mike’s a big part of our team,” Rice said. “He’s feeling good about his game, and I certainly thought he would play well. Did I think he would go for 20 points in the first half? I don’t know about that. He’s a great leader, and we missed that for a while. The biggest thing is just how his attitude has been fantastic.”

Moser’s long, painful journey back from his Dec. 9 elbow injury finally took a positive turn as he led the Rebels to their third conference road win and second in a row.

“I’ve been working as hard as I can and trying to do everything the right way,” Moser said. “It feels really good. There’s no better time. The team that peaks at the right time ... if we can keep this up, we’ll be just fine.”

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