Rebels relish rare road victory

LARAMIE, Wyo. — Khem Birch woke up Saturday morning expecting to play a part in a competitive college basketball game. UNLV’s sophomore center was happy to be only half right.

“You know our past with road games,” he said, “so I thought it was going to be a close one.”

Birch was the most significant player in a lopsided game, totaling 12 points and 14 rebounds to help the Rebels rout Wyoming 65-42 for only their second Mountain West road win in seven tries this season.

Bryce Dejean-Jones and Mike Moser each scored 11 points, and Katin Reinhardt added 10 as UNLV (21-7, 8-5) stopped a four-game road losing streak.

The game was most notable for who was not on the floor. Senior forward Leonard Washington, the Cowboys’ leading scorer, was a late scratch because of a sprained left ankle.

Freshman forward Anthony Bennett, UNLV’s top scorer, played the first four minutes and spent the rest of the game on the bench with a sore left shoulder. Bennett, who was averaging 17.6 points, missed two shots and went scoreless.

“We didn’t really need him in this game,” said Birch, who was told by Bennett during the morning shootaround that his shoulder was bothering him.

“He slept on it wrong, woke up this morning and it was stiff,” coach Dave Rice said. “Moser stepped in and did a good job.”

Moser’s seven points helped the Rebels build a 32-12 halftime lead. The Cowboys were so hopelessly inept without Washington that the crowd of 7,097 in the Arena-Auditorium rarely made noise.

“It’s a good feeling to win a road game,” Rice said. “Certainly, we caught a little bit of a break with Washington not being able to play. In our mind, he’s a first team all-conference player. He’s so important to what they do on both ends of the floor.”

UNLV’s game plan was to attack Wyoming’s soft middle, which Birch and Moser did effectively. The Rebels, who never trailed, scored 36 points in the paint.

“Without (Washington), I felt we had a better chance of getting in the paint and scoring more points,” said the 6-foot-9-inch Birch, who shot 6-for-9 with three dunks. “We knew they were kind of weak. We wanted to get it inside.”

Reinhardt hit a pair of 3-pointers as UNLV attempted a season-low nine 3s.

“It was a point of emphasis for us to make sure we threw the ball inside,” Rice said. “We’ve talked about being more selective with our 3-point shots, especially on the road.”

Freshman reserve Savon Goodman contributed eight points, and senior point guard Anthony Marshall had seven points, seven rebounds and six assists. Marshall was responsible for just one of the Rebels’ 18 turnovers.

“Once again, way too many turnovers,” said Rice, whose team has compiled 52 turnovers during a three-game win streak.

Sophomore forward Derek Cooke Jr. led the short-handed Cowboys (18-9, 4-9) with a career-high 15 points and nine rebounds. Larry Nance Jr. and Derrious Gilmore, who figured to carry Wyoming in Washington’s absence, shot a combined 3-for-22.

“We went into a buzzsaw,” Cowboys coach Larry Shyatt said. “UNLV did take advantage of Leonard being out. But nonetheless, they played without their lottery pick (Bennett), and still played very good basketball.

“This was the first time that I’ve seen our team play without energy for a great deal of the game. I apologize for our performance.”

Wyoming shot 5-for-28 in the first half and finished 17-for-59 (28.8 percent).

Rice said UNLV won’t resume regular, full-speed practices until Wednesday in preparation for Saturday’s game at UNR.

“We need this rest,” Birch said. “I was exhausted the past week.”

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