Utah State players knew what UNLV would throw at them - a sagging 2-3 zone and a lot of athletic moves. USU was not anticipating the relish with which UNLV played defense and rebounded Thursday night in the Thomas & Mack Center in both teams' Big West opener.
UNLV's never been a defensive team. New coach Bill Bayno had some convincing to do. Scoring leader Clayton Johnson never thought defense first, says Bayno. But Johnson now realizes defense makes him better. Other Rebs have seen the light, too. "They're proud of it," says Bayno. Offense now feeds off defense.That happened to end both halves Thursday; matters that were securely in USU's control blew up in its face. UNLV outscored USU 18-4 including the last nine points to end the game in going-away fashion, 66-57.
Bayno's first BWC win was nice, but any win is nice, he said, with this team that's gone through so much adversity it starts a walk-on at point guard.
UNLV finished the first half with a similar run, outscoring the Ags 9-2 for a 27-21 lead, collapsing on Eric Franson (game-high 20 points) and hounding guard Justin Jones (six points) until the Ags couldn't beat the shot clock.
UNLV even trashed Utah State in rebounding (by 11). Coach Larry Eustachy found that most distressing of all. "This is the worst we've been beaten on the boards since I've been here," he said. Later, he called it his worst board beating as a head coach.
It also hurt him that UNLV's press bothered the Ags, who'd beaten two teams that pressed much more last week in the Gossner Classic. Then, the Ags used the press to score early offense baskets. Thursday, they ignored those chances.
"Our press picked up our intensity," said Bayno. "That's a good sign."
For USU, it was nice to lead most of the game, but, "It was a 12round boxing match, and we got punched out in the last two rounds," said Eustachy. "We just melted. They were tougher."
"At times we played tentative and soft," said Franson. "It's all a state of mind." He said Aggie big men played on their heels and didn't claim position at times. That made entry passes hard to come by.
"We have to learn to finish games on the road," Franson added. "That's just all hustle."
"UNLV came to play," said guard Duane Rogers, in foul trouble early, meaning he had to be tentative because USU has little depth at guard. "They tiptoed for a minute, but they finished strong. They turned up the intensity, and we folded like a wallet."
The Aggies shot 58 percent from the field the second half to bring the game percentage up to 49 percent. Their early defensive rebounds held UNLV to one shot per possession, and the Rebels made few of those (37 percent the first half, 38 for the game). UNLV improved its rebounding, particularly offensive, in the second half, getting 12 off its own glass that half. USU had five offensive rebounds in the game.
Rebel forward Warren Rosegreen, 6-foot-6, claimed 13 rebounds. Franson had six and Silas Mills (17 points) five. USU made six more turnovers than the Rebs (seven steals).
USU (6-6, 0-1) travels to Nevada Monday. UNLV is 4-5, 1-0.