UNLV cruises to 98-63 win over Prairie View A&M

Five UNLV players scored in double-figures as the Rebels rolled to another blowout victory to start the season 2-0.

Junior Anthony Smith led the balanced attack with 17 points and seven rebounds in just 21 minutes of action as UNLV cruised to a 98-63 win over Prairie View A&M at Thomas & Mack Center on Wednesday night on the heels of Saturday’s 108-66 win over Florda A&M.

The Rebels came out on fire to start both halves on Wednesday.

After opening the game on an 11-0 run, UNLV outscored the Panthers 26-5 over the first 10 minutes of the second half to put the game safely out of reach.

Senior guard Jovan Mooring credited the defense.

“I think it was just knowing the scouting report,” he said. “We knew they were going to run off a lot of screens and we were doing a great job defending it.”

UNLV held Prairie View A&M to just 30.9 percent from the field for the game, including 21.2 percent in the second half.

Mooring struggled to get his shot going, but finished with 11 points, six assists, and two steals.

“I shot 2-for-9,” he said. “You’ve got to do something to stay on the floor. I’ve been working on my defense all offseason and I want that to be one of my staples going forward.”

His teammates more than made up for his off-night from the field.

Smith was 8-for-10 and Shakur Juiston made 6 of 7 shots to finish with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Freshman Brandon McCoy also had 15 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double on the heels of a 25-point, 18-rebound effort in his debut.

“He was 7-for-12 and got 11 rebounds,” UNLV coach Marvin Menzies said. “He’s going to have successful games because he’s so talented. He listens and he beats himself up when he doesn’t. He probably didn’t think he played great tonight, but that’s a pretty good line. Especially for a freshman. I thought he did great.”

Senior guard Jordan Johnson rounded out the quintet of double-digit scorers with 16 points to go with his nine assists.

Mooring believes the balanced attack will be a staple of the team this season.

“That goes with everyone just being engaged,” he said. “When you look at special teams around the world, they all work together regardless of who’s in the spotlight. We’ve just got to continue to play together and I think we do a great job of finding each other.”

It also helps when you score 32 points off 21 turnovers and outscore the opposition 60-24 in the paint and 23-4 on fast breaks.

Not every number was as pretty for the Rebels as they improved to 2-0.

UNLV committed 18 turnovers and made just 19 of 38 free-throw attempts, in addition to several defensive lapses that had been part of the scouting session.

The Rebels also allowed Prairie View A&M to grab 15 offensive rebounds and convert them into 19 second-chance points, though some of that was a result of so many missed shots.

It didn’t cost them against an overmatched Southwestern Athletic Conference opponent.

“That doesn’t work when you play teams that are a little bit deeper and better,” Menzies said. “We’ve got to shore that up quickly.”

He was, however, pleased with the execution of some of the halftime adjustments.

After UNLV attempted 15 shots from 3-point range in the first half, Menzies implored the Rebels to pound the ball inside against the undersized Panthers.

“I don’t mind taking 3s, but we want very specific types of 3s,” he said. “Inside-out, trail 3s with the right personnel, corner 3s from the right personnel. We don’t want to take them when there’s no offensive rebounders or quick in the clock when you have an obvious physical advantage inside. We did a better job of that in the second half.”

UNLV missed all three attempts from beyond the arc after halftime.

Zachary Hamilton had 15 points for Prairie View A&M (0-3), which is in the midst of a season-opening 13-game road trip.

Former Rebel and Foothill High School alum Austin Starr had eight points and two rebounds in 23 minutes for the Panthers.

UNLV remains at home to play Eastern Washington (2-1) at 7 p.m. on Friday.

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @adamhilllvrj on Twitter.