UNLV rolls over Canadian squad in exhibition game

MONTREAL - In the dunk contest staged Monday, Carlos Lopez earned points for sheer power on his breakaway slams, but Bryce Dejean-Jones was the higher flier and most impressive overall.

UNLV's third game in Canada was a basketball exhibition in running fast breaks and rattling the rims with authority.

"I said, 'Wow, how many dunks did we have?' There were a lot," said the 6-foot-11-inch Lopez.

After a two-hour trip from Ottawa, the Rebels got off the bus and blasted the University of Laval 97-62 at Love Competition Hall, where the game was decided in the first quarter but about 200 fans remained entertained by the show.

"We were having fun," said junior forward Mike Moser, who was asked to rate the estimated 12 dunks for UNLV. "On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give us a 7. We could definitely do better."

The Rebels ran their record to 3-0 on the tour while getting a break from the tough competition they encountered Saturday and Sunday. Dejean-Jones, a sophomore guard, was UNLV's leading scorer for the second consecutive day with 18 points.

Lopez, senior guard Anthony Marshall and freshman forward Savon Goodman had 16 points apiece, while Moser scored 14 and senior forward Quintrell Thomas added 12.

"We got everybody in and we got everybody scoring," Moser said. "It's always a good feeling when everybody is involved."

Freshman guard Katin Reinhardt sat out with a sore left knee, an injury he sustained late in Sunday's game. Reinhardt's status is questionable for today's finale against McGill University.

Eight of nine Rebels who played scored. Senior guard Justin Hawkins shot 0-for-5 but he collected eight steals and had an excuse for going scoreless.

"Justin is so sick right now. He's feeling horrible and he's been in bed all day," Moser said. "It's just great to see him out there playing."

Instead of 20-minute halves, the game consisted of four 10-minute quarters. Lopez, a junior forward, dunked twice and scored seven points to help put UNLV up 31-10 after the first quarter.

The Rebels' lead swelled to 65-29 at halftime before the dunk contest disintegrated into a bad pickup game. It was 87-47 after the third quarter, but UNLV got sloppy offensively and failed to reach triple digits.

"We got a lot of wide-open shots. It was the opportunity to get out and have fun and see guys sharing the ball," coach Dave Rice said. "But we didn't play particularly well down the stretch and ran out of gas a little bit. It's just a reminder to our guys, that regardless of the opponent, how good a shape we need to be in to play the way we want to play.

"We've got to get in better shape. We know it's August, but it's certainly a reminder for our guys in September and October that we've got to get in great shape before November."

The Laval team, nicknamed the Red and Gold (or "Rouge et Or" in French), was undersized and lacking Division I talent. Leading scorer Thibaud Dezutter, who had 15 points, is a 6-3 guard and a biology major from Belgium.

The Rebels will get a tougher test from McGill today, and obviously at North Carolina in late December.

"One thing you can't always control is the level of competition, and yet we've been challenged at various times during the trip," Rice said. "It's been a great trip for us."

Rice, who studied French in high school and college, plans to spend some free time today touring a historic section of the city with his wife, Mindy.

"My French is not nearly as good as it was about 20 years ago when I graduated from UNLV," Rice said. "I can get around the streets. My conversational French is not very good but I can understand a little bit and read it pretty well."

Moser smiled when it was suggested the nightlife in Montreal has much more to offer than Ottawa.

"Curfew is at 12 and I'll be in my room at 12," Moser said, smiling. "I'll be there, for sure."

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