UNLV beats San Jose State 74-40

It was not one of those nights Rashad Vaughn will remember for a long time. It was a good night, though, because it helped UNLV’s freshman guard wipe away bad memories from earlier in the week.

Reeling from their most painful loss of the season, the Rebels temporarily got well by beating up on the worst team in the Mountain West.

“I lost a lot of sleep,” Vaughn said. “I was waiting to play another game.”

Vaughn’s 15 points and 10 rebounds helped lift UNLV to a 74-40 victory over San Jose State before a mostly subdued crowd of 12,623 on Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The sleep Vaughn was deprived of stemmed from the Rebels getting upset by rival UNR on the same floor Wednesday. The day after the debacle, coach Dave Rice put his players in the film room and dictated a harshly critical review of their performance.

“He didn’t do it lightly, either,” Vaughn said. “He showed every clip to every player and every mistake that you made. It really hit home for a lot of guys. We took it personally.”

Rice’s message was received, and UNLV (10-6, 1-2 MW) stopped its three-game losing skid by defending with tenacity and shooting 55.6 percent from the field.

“There is no doubt we were a frustrated team after Wednesday’s loss. We’ve got to move past it,” Rice said. “We’ve always bounced back and had a positive response.”

Freshman reserve Dwayne Morgan added 10 points, and Jelan Kendrick and Jordan Cornish scored nine apiece as the Rebels found the win column for the first time since beating Southern Utah on Dec. 27.

The Spartans (2-14, 0-4) shot 23.3 percent (14 of 60) from the field, including 2 of 19 on 3-pointers, and finished with two assists and 12 turnovers in a dismal offensive performance.

“We’re just short-handed and they wore us down, and it obviously showed on the offensive end because we just didn’t make shots,” said San Jose State coach Dave Wojcik, whose team remained winless against Division I opponents this season.

The Spartans suffered along with their leading scorer, sophomore guard Rashad Muhammad from Bishop Gorman High School. Muhammad scored three points on free throws and shot 0-for-11 from the field.

“When you go home, you usually play really well or you play terrible,” said Muhammad, who was averaging 13.3 points and coming off a season-high 26-point effort against Air Force. “I didn’t have one of my best games. That’s just how it went.

“I felt good coming in. I was shooting really well the last two days at practice. I just couldn’t put anything in the basket when it came down to game time. It happens.”

It also happened to Darryl Gaynor II, a freshman guard from Durango High. Gaynor had five points on 2-for-16 shooting.

“We think Gaynor and Muhammad are very good players,” Rice said. “We knew they were the two guys who make their team go, and we forced them into a lot of tough shots.”

Jaleel Williams finished with 17 points for the Spartans, but even he struggled by hitting 1 of 9 3-pointers.

Sophomore forward Chris Wood made his only field-goal attempt for the Rebels and finished with six points, 12 rebounds and three blocks.

“It was a huge key for us for Chris to be as unselfish as he was,” Rice said. “The ball moved because he didn’t care about anything but getting (other) guys involved.”

Rice briefly experimented with a full-court press and found minutes for freshman guard Dantley Walker and walk-ons Barry Cheaney and Charles Rushman. All 11 players scored for UNLV.

Vaughn made 3 of 7 3-pointers, and Cornish and Morgan each shot 2-for-2 on 3s.

Cornish is the player who attempts to fire up his teammates after pregame introductions, and he said his attempts failed before the UNR game.

“I definitely think we overlooked them,” Cornish said.

Vaughn has Jan. 27 circled on his schedule — the date the Rebels play the Wolf Pack in Reno.

“I can’t wait to go back and play them again,” Vaughn said.

UNLV hits the road for its next two games, at Boise State on Tuesday and at San Diego State on Saturday.

“It’s a huge week for us,” Rice said.

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