Rebels triumph over Cowboys with 69-57 win
For the first two months of the season, Patrick McCaw was UNLV’s most valuable player off the bench. On Saturday, he spent one minute on the bench.
The question of who would take over as the Rebels’ leader in the absence of Rashad Vaughn has been answered. When one freshman guard went down, another stepped up.
“I planned on filling that void. I knew that I would probably have to step up,” McCaw said. “I have to lead out there, and if I don’t, our team probably won’t be as successful.”
McCaw made five 3-pointers and scored 21 points to lift UNLV to a 69-57 victory over Wyoming at the Thomas & Mack Center, where the Cowboys fell to the Rebels for the 15th consecutive time.
Senior guard Cody Doolin scored all of his 10 points in the first half, and sophomore forward Chris Wood finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds for UNLV (16-13, 7-9 Mountain West).
McCaw was promoted to the starting lineup Jan. 17, and when Vaughn was lost for the rest of the regular season to a knee injury Feb. 10, coach Dave Rice knew where he had to turn for help.
“Pat’s a do-it-all guy for us,” Rice said. “I don’t want to play him 39 minutes, but it’s hard for me to take him off the floor because he does so many things.
“He’s a quiet leader. He leads by example. He understands the game. When Rashad got hurt, it’s a situation where everyone’s role changes, and Patrick went from being a third scorer to a primary guy.”
Wood, the Rebels’ No. 2 scorer behind Vaughn, was held scoreless in the first half, when he attempted only one shot and his effort was lacking. Rice made a statement by benching Wood to open the second half.
“Chris had a rough first half, and he told me at half he was going to bring it, and that’s what he did,” McCaw said. “I was glad he started playing harder in the second half.”
Wood’s first points came on a 3-pointer that put UNLV up 50-40 with 11:04 remaining. Wyoming trimmed its deficit to 52-49 before McCaw and Wood took control down the stretch.
The Rebels used a 10-0 run to run away. After McCaw banked in a 3-pointer, Wood hit a 3 to extend the UNLV’s lead to 62-49 with about four minutes remaining.
With their best player, senior forward Larry Nance Jr., in foul trouble and struggling to score, the Cowboys (21-8, 10-6) came up empty. McCaw shadowed guard Josh Adams, who had 24 points, for the final 10 minutes and kept him quiet.
Nance, playing his second game since returning from a case of mononucleosis, was limited to nine points on 3-for-10 shooting. Nance, who fouled out with 1:16 to go, also had nine rebounds.
Rice devised a different game plan from the one he used on New Year’s Eve, when Nance exploited the Rebels’ defense for 29 points. UNLV used double-team help on Nance more often this time.
“Adams is so explosive, and he’s going to make contested shots. He was fantastic,” said Rice, who called it “a great collaborative effort” to control Nance in the low post.
“I thought we answered the challenge of being tougher,” Rice said.
Wood answered the challenge of being benched.
“I’m going to play the guys who are ready to play,” Rice said. “We need everybody to give everything they’ve got on every possession.”
The Rebels got strong efforts from freshmen Jordan Cornish, Dwayne Morgan and Goodluck Okonoboh. Morgan, who started the second half in place of Wood, and senior guard Jelan Kendrick scored eight points apiece.
UNLV shot 48 percent from the field and 12-for-14 on free throws, but McCaw wanted to stress what happened on the other end of the floor.
“If we sit down and play defense, that translates to offense,” said McCaw, who shot 6-for-10 and had two key steals.
A week ago, McCaw scored a career-high 22 points in a win at New Mexico. This time, McCaw, who is from St. Louis, put on a birthday celebration for his mother, Teresa, who attended the game.
“I’ve been a big Pat fan ever since he arrived,” Doolin said. “We all see how good a player he is. He’s probably my favorite player on the team.
“I keep bragging on him, but he’s just doing a great job. He makes it look so easy.”
Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.
