Rebel Report Card: UNLV vs. San Jose State

The UNLV men's basketball team had hit another level on the rock bottom scale on Wednesday. In a disastrous season which has already featured a coaching change, the sleep-walking Rebels were down 15 points at home against the Mountain West Conference's last-place team. With San Jose State leading most of the way by double digits, many fans left early and the ones that stayed either yawned or booed.

UNLV was on the verge of one of its ugliest losses in recent memory. Not even using the injury bug as an excuse would have saved the Rebels from the wrath of angry fans. Then suddenly something clicked for UNLV. The Rebels unleashed a 14-0 run midway through the second half and held on to defeat the Spartans, 64-61.

The Rebels (14-11, 5-7 Mountain West) avoided disaster and snapped a three-game losing streak. The team's half-court offense issues and poor free-throw shooting down the stretch suddenly disappeared. It was a strange game for a UNLV, which only had eight healthy players.

Backcourt: B

Jerome Seagears has had the ball in his hands with the game on the line before. On Wednesday, the senior guard finally executed.

Seagears' driving layup put the Rebels ahead 61-58 with 59 seconds left. Seagears scored 13 points and recorded six steals despite dealing with an injured hand.

It was a rough start for Seagears, who missed numerous layups, but he was able to close the victory.  

And it was Patrick McCaw who started the rally.

McCaw forced San Jose State into multiple turnovers when UNLV went to a full-court press during the 14-0 run. McCaw's falling corner 3-pointer gave the Rebels a 51-50 advantage, the team's first lead since the opening minutes of the game.

The sophomore guard scored a team-high 16 points.

Ike Nwamu continued to attack the rim while the Rebels struggled on offense. He scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds.

Frontcourt: B

With Stephen Zimmerman Jr. in a jumpsuit on the bench, Ben Carter out with an ACL tear and Dwayne Morgan continuing to struggle, Derrick Jones Jr. showed up in a big way for the frontcourt.

Jones attacked the glass for a career-high 18 rebounds and chipped in 14 points. The freshman forward even made key free throws down the stretch.

Jones led the rally on offense by scoring off dunks and putbacks.

Morgan recorded four points and seven rebounds.

Bench: C-

The bench is hard to grade since UNLV only had three available players. The team didn't receive a point from Jordan Cornish or Jalen Poyser.

Austin Starr scored the team's only two bench points, but the charges he took on defense were vital for the turnaround. Starr, a walk-on freshman, did the dirty work and that ignited the team.

Coaching: C

The ugly stat line in the first half falls on interim coach Todd Simon. It's up to him to get the team going.

UNLV was 9 of 30 from the field and 3 of 13 from 3-point range in the first half. The Rebels were also outrebounded 27-19 in the first half.

Simon then adjusted. His decision to go to a full-court press worked. Simon said the zone defense wasn't working and the team was lazy playing it.

It was a poor start, but Simon recovered nicely. Let's see how the Rebels respond to this comeback.

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