Rebels get lift from Thomas, Bennett in win over Wyoming

When it was time to finish a grind-it-out game, Anthony Bennett fought off the defense and elevated to throw down a two-handed slam, punctuating a performance that summed up UNLV's night.

It was not a work of art for the most part, but Bennett made certain the end result was satisfying.

"I think we did a great job defensively," the freshman forward said. "Guarding for 35 seconds throughout the game is kind of hard, but our team stuck with it."

Bennett scored 17 points, and senior forward Quintrell Thomas contributed a season-high 13 off the bench to power the Rebels to a 62-50 victory over Wyoming on Thursday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The slow-paced Cowboys scored the first eight and final six points of the game. In between, Bennett and Thomas proved to be too much, and UNLV's defense surrendered little.

Anthony Marshall added 12 points and nine assists for the Rebels (16-4, 3-2 Mountain West) in a game in which they rarely were able to run and scored only three fast-break points.

"League games are never easy," coach Dave Rice said. "It starts with defense for us when we're successful."

Wyoming (15-3, 2-3) was led by its talented forwards, Larry Nance Jr. with 16 points and Leonard Washington with 13 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots. But Nance was held to two after halftime, when Bennett stepped up to stop him.

Thomas also played a major role on both ends. After getting a total of 23 minutes in UNLV's first four conference games, he was on the floor for 22 minutes against the Cowboys and shot 6-for-8 while grabbing five rebounds.

"Quintrell is our best one-on-one low-post defender," said Rice, who stuck with Thomas instead of starters Khem Birch and Mike Moser in the second half. "He just steps up to every challenge. You're happy to see a guy who hangs in there … and when he gets an opportunity, he helps the team win."

Thomas scored 11 of his points in the second half, when the Rebels extended a four-point lead to 18.

"Teams have a lot to worry about when they play us," Thomas said, "and they have to prepare for more than one guy."

Normally, the one guy is Bennett, who was double-teamed on only four or five possessions. Thomas, likely a footnote on Wyoming's scouting report, took advantage of his chances when Bennett did draw the defense.

"Quintrell has been working hard in every practice," said Bennett, who shot 6-for-14 from the field and made all four of his free throws. "He's a great player and a great guy, and I'm happy for him."

Rice praised his three seniors - Thomas, Marshall and Justin Hawkins - for setting an intense tone on both ends. Marshall had just two of the team's 15 turnovers, and Hawkins had six points, six rebounds and two steals.

"I think Anthony is playing like an all-conference player at point guard," Rice said.

Marshall made three 3-pointers to help UNLV go in front 29-25 at the half. The Cowboys continued to hang close until freshman Katin Reinhardt's 3-pointer put the Rebels on a 47-33 cushion with 12:14 remaining.

UNLV's last field goal of the game came on Bennett's dunk, which extended the lead to 60-44 with six minutes to go. The play started on a defensive rebound by Thomas and was facilitated by Marshall's assist.

The Rebels' final points came on Hawkins' two free throws with 5:15 to go, and the 62-44 lead was their largest of the night.

Wyoming shot 41.7 percent (20 of 48) but hit just 3 of 16 3-pointers and got outrebounded by 14.

"We came out slow and kind of flat," Marshall said. "We turned it up on the defensive end, and that gave us energy."

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