Rebel Report Card: UNLV vs. Chaminade

Before we hand out grades, it's fair to mention that the Runnin' Rebels were headed for F performances all across the board. The UNLV men's basketball team went into halftime down 37-33 against Division II Chaminade of Honolulu and trailed by as much as eight points. The Rebels caught fire in the second half and went on to win 93-73 at the Maui Invitational on Tuesday in the loser's bracket of the tournament.

UNLV earned itself an F for free throw and 3-point shooting. The Rebels went a horrendous 15 of 30 from the line and a cold 4 of 16 from long range.

Backcourt: C-
Patrick McCaw keeps carrying the backcourt this season. McCaw was the only offense for the Rebels in a dismal first half, despite taking a knee to the face in the opening minutes. McCaw scored 25 points and made 3 of the 4 3-pointers recorded by the team. McCaw was also the top playmaker, picking up four assists and dishing the ball to Derrick Jones Jr. on the open floor. Jerome Seagears managed to score 11 points, but as the point guard, he failed to get the Rebels' offense going. Ike Nwamu had a quiet six points.

Frontcourt: D+
Yes, standout freshman Stephen Zimmerman Jr. was out due to illness, but there still shouldn't be an excuse as to why the Rebel big men couldn't dominate the smaller Silverswords. This was a chance for the lanky, 6-foot-10 Goodluck Okonoboh to establish himself as a legit rim protector. Two rebounds and one block is not going to get it done. Ben Carter had spurts in the second half with seven points and eight rebounds.

Bench: B-
McCaw was great, but Jones saved this from becoming a nightmare Hawaii trip for the Rebels. Jones' athleticism and speed was too much for Chaminade in the second half. The high-flying freshman forward was all over the floor, scoring in every way. After only four points in the first 20 minutes, Jones dropped 22 in the second half for a team-high 26 points. He continued to draw more oohs and ahhs for his dazzling dunks.

UNLV's strength is depth, but the Rebels didn't get any production from the bench besides Jones.

Coaching: C-
Some blame should go toward Dave Rice for that poor first half. He made up for it by having his team ready in the second half. Whatever he told the Rebels in the locker room worked. Rice allowed his two best players to take over and scrapped whatever game plan they had. Sometimes pick-up basketball against a smaller-school opponent gets the job done.

You can contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow him on Twitter: @gmanzano24