Stanford teaches young Rebels a lesson

NEW YORK — Anthony Brown and Chasson Randle, a pair of senior guards, took UNLV’s highly touted freshmen to school and introduced them to big-time college basketball. It was a rude introduction.

The Rebels were totally unprepared for what hit them Friday night, and they were hit hard. The result was an embarrassment in Brooklyn.

“It’s just a learning process,” said Rashad Vaughn, the leader among the five freshmen. “We’ve got to take it and learn from it.”

Brown and Randle each scored 18 points and led a 3-point shooting assault as Stanford blitzed UNLV 89-60 in a Coaches vs. Cancer Classic semifinal at the Barclays Center.

The 29-point margin marked the Rebels’ most lopsided loss in Dave Rice’s 106 games as coach.

“It’s a painful lesson for us,” Rice said. “We don’t talk about youth, we just talk about getting better. The best news is we’ve got another game in less than 24 hours.”

UNLV (2-1) faces Temple (2-1) in the third-place game at 4 p.m. today. The Owls were routed 74-54 by No. 4 Duke.

The best news for the Rebels might have been avoiding their first meeting with the Blue Devils in 23 years, because it only would have poured salt in an old wound. UNLV showed it is nowhere near ready to challenge a highly ranked opponent.

Cardinal coach Johnny Dawkins was kind in his assessment of the Rebels’ performance.

“I think we beat a good team, a team that is a little young with a lot of new players,” Dawkins said. “They showed a lot of fight.”

The truth is the Rebels never were in the game, falling behind 12-0 and rarely sustaining any type of rally to make the score respectable. UNLV’s offensive execution was weak, and its defensive effort was arguably worse.

“We did a poor job of locating their shooters,” Rice said.

Stanford put on a shooting clinic, sinking 14-for-20 from 3-point range, a display made easier by the Rebels’ lack of defensive awareness. Randle, who made 6 of 10 3s, said he was “a little surprised” to find himself so wide open so often.

“It just happened to be our night shooting the basketball,” Randle said. “Our guys did a great job of spacing the floor well and finding the open man.”

There were open shooters all over the floor for the Cardinal. Brown connected on 4 of 5 3-pointers. Randle hit two 3s in the first 3½ minutes, and it was 36-10 after Randle’s fourth 3-pointer with 9:16 remaining.

Randle scored 15 points to lead Stanford to a 52-29 halftime lead.

“Chasson is a great player,” Dawkins said. “I think he’s one of the best guards in the country, and he showed it again tonight.”

The Rebels were overwhelmed inside and out. Rosco Allen, a forward from Bishop Gorman High School, totaled 15 points and six rebounds. Allen, Stefan Nastic and Reid Travis powered the Cardinal to a 47-29 advantage in rebounds.

Sophomore forward Chris Wood had 12 points and 11 rebounds for UNLV, which shot 22-for-58 (37.9 percent) from the field, including 5-for-18 on 3s.

Vaughn, who entered as the Rebels’ leading scorer at 22 points per game, was held to one point in the first half and finished with seven. He hit 2 of 9 shots and was no factor in the game.

He indicated UNLV’s players might have approached the game with an attitude that was too cool and casual following narrow season-opening victories over Morehead State and Sam Houston State.

“From the past two wins, we thought everything was going to be good,” Vaughn said. “I’m just glad it’s early.”

Rice will find out soon if any lessons were learned.

“We certainly have to be positive with the guys,” Rice said, “but also make it clear we have to be better in all aspects of the game.”

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