Rebels avoid upset bid, beat Dixie State in overtime

In an exhibition that threatened to turn into an embarrassment for UNLV, Katin Reinhardt showed he's no ordinary freshman guard.

Anthony Marshall followed by making the winning play that is expected of a senior guard.

Reinhardt scored 15 of his 20 points after halftime, and the Rebels avoided their first exhibition loss since 2001 by defeating Division II Dixie State 81-80 in overtime on a strangely dramatic Wednesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"I really didn't want to start the season off like that," said Marshall, who finished with 16 points, six assists and four steals. His last assist was his biggest.

With time ticking away, Marshall split defenders, drove the lane and passed to Carlos Lopez-Sosa, who dropped in the go-ahead layup with five seconds remaining.

UNLV coach Dave Rice gave his team credit for doing what it took to win, but he handed out no credit for style points.

"In stretches, we were terrific. At some points, it was embarrassing how poorly we played," Rice said. "We've got a long way to go. I do think it has been a little bit of a wake-up call for us.

"We have a hard time sustaining our effort. We didn't give it everything we have tonight, and we can't play in spurts if we're going to be any good. The thing we cannot do is we can't wait until our backs are against the wall."

The Rebels, ranked 18th in The Associated Press preseason poll, were in preseason form, shooting 6-for-32 on 3-pointers and committing 21 turnovers. It's also worth noting they blew a 17-point halftime lead.

With a closed-scrimmage loss at UCLA and a poor exhibition performance in the rearview mirror, UNLV opens the regular season on its home floor against Northern Arizona at 7 p.m. Monday.

"You can't simulate adversity in practice, so times like these are good learning points for us," said senior forward Quintrell Thomas, who came off the bench to produce 14 points and 10 rebounds.

Junior forward Mike Moser scored 13 of his 15 points in the first half, when the Rebels raced to a 47-30 lead. But they got sloppy when they emerged from the locker room, and the Red Storm scored the first 11 points of the second half.

McKay Massey took advantage of UNLV's defensive lapses and shot Dixie State back into the game. Massey made two 3-pointers and a layup to trim the Rebels' lead to 57-55 with 10 minutes to go.

Massey's 3-pointer put the Red Storm ahead 68-63 with four minutes remaining. The Rebels regained the edge on Reinhardt's 3 with 1:09 left, and with the crowd of 12,814 roaring, Dalton Groskruetz refused to be rattled and sank two free throws with one second remaining to force OT.

Dixie State scored the first seven points of overtime before Reinhardt, who drained a 3 from the corner with 1:16 to go, and Marshall led UNLV's comeback.

"He's one of those guys who's fearless and wants the ball in critical situations," Rice said of Reinhardt, who hit 3 of 7 3-pointers.

Rice said the Rebels launched "way too many 3-point shots" and failed to get freshman forward Anthony Bennett established in the post.

Rice said he planned to play Demetris Morant, a freshman forward from Bishop Gorman High School, in the second half. But when the game tightened up, Morant, who is expected to redshirt this season, remained on the bench.

Massey made six 3s and scored 25 points and Groskruetz had 19 for the Red Storm, who exposed many of the Rebels' defensive weaknesses that were apparent last season.

"Every game is not going to be a 20-point blowout," Marshall said. "We can learn from this."

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