Wood, Vaughn lead Rebels’ rout of Southern Utah

One way to wake up a bored crowd is with a windmill dunk, and Chris Wood threw down a thunderous one.

A lightning-strike streak of 3-pointers also can do the trick, and Rashad Vaughn made three during a two-minute stretch in the second half.

Wood and Vaughn scored 22 points apiece, and UNLV showed no signs of being emotionally flat in a 79-45 victory over Southern Utah on Saturday night.

“I think we established we’re just a good team,” Vaughn said. “We’ve been maturing a lot as a team during these last couple games. We made a big jump.”

Four days after upsetting No. 3 Arizona on the same floor, the Rebels returned from Christmas break with another strong effort that erased coach Dave Rice’s fears of a letdown.

“You worry about those sorts of things,” Rice said. “I was very pleased with the response. I thought we started the game out great.”

If a Thomas & Mack Center crowd of 13,556 seemed sleepy at times, it was only because UNLV (9-3) took care of business and turned a tough scheduling spot into a blowout. But the fans were entertained in the second half as Wood put on a dunking display and Vaughn and Dantley Walker staged a 3-point shooting exhibition.

The Rebels, who have one nonconference game remaining at Kansas on Jan. 4, open Mountain West play at Wyoming on Wednesday.

“The conference, I feel, is wide open. We’ve just got to take it,” said Vaughn, who made 5 of 8 3-pointers. “I have a lot of confidence in our team. I feel we’re ready.”

Wood was dominant from the start. Thirty seconds into the game, he made a 3-pointer. The 6-foot-11-inch sophomore moved inside and overwhelmed the smaller Thunderbirds by dunking three times in the first half. He finished the night 9-for-12 from the field and had 14 rebounds and five blocked shots.

Midway through the second half, Wood left the floor and headed for the locker room due to what Rice called “just some stomach issues.”

Rice sent Walker, a redshirt freshman reserve from Lincoln County High School, into the game to ignite a roar from the crowd.

The Rebels, who led by eight points at halftime, went up 72-40 on Walker’s 3-pointer with 5:04 remaining. Walker added another one late as UNLV shot 11-for-25 from 3-point range.

The Thunderbirds (3-8) were held to 25.4 percent (16-for-63) shooting, including 16 percent during their 17-point second half.

Southern Utah started three players from Las Vegas high schools — Trey Kennedy (Bishop Gorman), Travon Langston and Juwan Major (Las Vegas) — and Sherron Wilson (Clark) played as a reserve.

The Rebels were too athletic and too focused to allow the Thunderbirds to make a serious run at any stage of the game.

UNLV finished with 20 assists on 25 field goals and made 18 of 22 free throws.

“It wasn’t a letdown,” senior guard Jelan Kendrick said. “I’m very proud of this young team and very proud of the progress we’ve made from last week to this week.

“I do believe in this team. We still have a lot of growing to do, and I believe we can get there. I think we have a fighting chance.”

Kendrick produced an oddly impressive stat line, totaling 11 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks to go with two points and no turnovers in 33 minutes.

Rice praised Kendrick, saying, “Guys who don’t care about anything but figuring out a way to help our team win, that’s what J.K. was tonight.”

Freshman forward Dwayne Morgan contributed six points and eight rebounds. Morgan made his first career start in place of freshman Goodluck Okonoboh, who did not suit up because of a minor knee injury.

The Rebels also got nine points from freshman guard Jordan Cornish, who is about to take his first tour around the Mountain West.

“I think we had one of the toughest non-league schedules in the country, and I think we did well,” Cornish said. “Every game we’re getting better.”

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