LIVE GAME BLOG: It wasn’t pretty, but UNLV outlasts Washburn, 74-56

By Ryan Greene

Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008 | 9:27 p.m.

Final, UNLV wins 74-56

Wink Adams' night pretty much summed up the way things went for the entire UNLV squad in Tuesday's 74-56 exhibition victory over Washburn.

It wasn't pretty, and it was down-right ugly at times, but in the end, everything was OK.

The Rebels were just 24-of-57 from the floor in their 2008-09 Thomas & Mack Center debut, and Washburn held close until there were about six minutes to play. At that point, Adams canned back-to-back three-pointers to all but seal the deal, as he finished with a game-high 27 points on 9-of-18 shooting.

UNLV was just 5-of-22 from beyond the arc, including a 1-for-4 night from Joe Darger.

The most interesting storyline of the night for UNLV may have been at the point guard spot, where freshman Oscar Bellfield got a somewhat surprising start ahead of sophomore Memphis transfer Tre'von Willis. Bellfield scored five points in 20 minutes played, dishing out two assists to go with four turnovers. Willis scored nine points, had five rebounds, four assists and five turnovers.

UNLV opens up the regular season Saturday afternoon with a 2:30 p.m. tip against San Diego.

For full postgame coverage, including stories, photos, audio, stats and video, stay tuned to www.lasvegassun.com/rebels.

3:57, second half, UNLV leads 60-54

Wink Adams may have given UNLV the final bit of breathing room it needs on the night. It doesn't make up for a night filled with offensive struggles, but his back-to-back three-pointers came at just the right moment, with Washburn having closed in at 53-51.

He nearly hit a third off a nifty spin move on the left edge, but still leads all scorers on the night with 21 points.

7:29, second half, UNLV leads 49-44

The inconsistencies continue, and now as we hit the game's final eight minutes, Washburn has a real shot at taking this thing.

The Rebels have added and-ones from Kendall Wallace and Mo Rutledge since the last media timeout, but Washburn's Mario Scott continues to bury three-pointers and the Ichabods believe.

You've got to wonder at this point if UNLV didn't expect this much of a fight in its exhibition game. Every year there seems to be one or two unknowns who pull off an exhibition shocker. Last year it was Grand Valley State knocking off Michigan State. Of course, that doesn't mean the season is lost right off the bat. If anything, it's an eye-opener. Something tells me we won't see this same UNLV team Saturday against San Diego when this stuff actually counts.

From a statistical standpoint, the Rebels are lucky this one doesn't count. As it stands, they're 2-of-18 from three-land.

11:56, second half, UNLV leads 43-35

Anderson Hunt just came out and casually drilled his three during a shootout contest against a fan from the stands. So far, he's the only Rebel - former or present - do claim that tonight.

While the offense continues to come just in spurts for UNLV, Washburn has closed in again thanks to a couple of threes from William McNeill.

Frustration is starting to show a tad for the Rebels, as Wink Adams picked up an uncharacteristic technical foul after being called for an offensive foul a few minutes ago.

14:29, second half, UNLV leads 39-22

Well, this is starting to feel more like it, as the Rebels have not just kept Washburn scoreless through four-plus minutes in the second half, but have scored 12 points of their own in the process, giving UNLV a 39-22 edge.

Wink Adams has continued to play the typical Wink Adams game, getting to the free throw line and splashing in a little flair from time to time. He's added six points early in the half, while Oscar Bellfield looks to have rid himself of any offensive jitters from earlier. He dropped in a slashing layup right out of the gate, and then showed a quick-trigger release in hitting a three from the left corner.

Nothing too special, yet nothing too alarming. It seems like that'll wind up being the theme for the night.

Halftime, UNLV leads 27-22

It was really about as pretty as the Legends game beforehand. That's the first half, I'm talking about, as UNLV leads Washburn 27-22 after 20 minutes I'm sure the Rebels will be glad to forget.

It was as close as a point in the final minute, before Tre'Von Willis notched his fourth assist of the game, hitting Brice Massamba while rolling to the bucket for a finger roll with a foul shot tacked onto it.

UNLV was just 11-of-32 from the floor in the first half, and the reason it's still so close is that some suffocating defense has held Washburn to just an 8-of-29 showing.

Some numbers of note ...

-Most of the eyes have been on the point guards, as Oscar Bellfield got the start ahead of Willis. Bellfield was scoreless and had three turnovers to one assist. Willis played four fewer minutes, scored two points, had two boards, registered four assists and turned it over thrice.

-Wink Adams was UNLV's leading scorer with 9 points, but it came on 4-of-11 shooting.

-UNLV's shooting overall has been patchy. Worth extra mention is a 1-of-11 showing from three-point range. Adams was 1-of-6 from deep, while Joe Darger was 0-for-5. Does this spell doom for the rest of the season? No. But remember, they're dealing with a longer three-point distance this year, and UNLV hasn't practiced in this building for more than a week now with the PBR finals in town. Not an excuse. Just sayin'.

Be back after the break.

2:07, first half, UNLV leads 23-22

It's not getting any prettier as we near halftime at the Thomas & Mack Center. That's for sure.

UNLV's biggest struggle continues to be to simply get shots to fall. Wink Adams hit a turnaround jumper on the baseline just before the first half's final full break, giving him a game-high nine points so far.

But it came on the heels of an 8-0 Washburn run, as the Ichabods now have a little more confidence after hanging around for as long as they have.

UNLV so far is just 10-of-31 from the floor and 1-of-11 from long distance.

Now, for the final 2:07 of the half, Willis is back in the game at the point, and Brice Massamba is making his first appearance.

7:52, first half, UNLV leads 17-11

Two more buckets assisted by Willis got the action going out of the game's second full break, with Washburn coach Bob Chipman tweeting for a timeout following the first - a dish to Mo Rutledge.

What can go a little overlooked, as it usually can with Lon Kruger teams, is the defense. The fact that the offense is taking a bit to get going. UNLV is just 1-of-9 from three-point range as we're barely over 12 minutes into the game.

They've held the Ichabods to a 4-of-15 showing in the early minutes.

11:37, first half, UNLV leads 13-11

Wink Adams hit a three from the left side to pull the Rebels within one, this coming on the heels of Bellfield's second turnover in the early going.

The offensive struggles came right back, though, as Adams had a couple more distance attempts rattle out, and Washburn bumped up the lead at 8-5, with Mario Scott taking an angle on Bellfield and sliding in for two points.

Adams continued to be the Rebels' offensive source, sandwiching a pair of buckets around a Lekheythan Moore three for the Ichabods. His second bucket came with a free throw attempt, but it bounced off to the left.

During the quick breather after the foul, Kruger brought Tre'Von Willis into the game for the first time, and on that possession, Rougeau tied things up at 11-11 with a bucket inside.

Willis helped give the Rebels their first lead of the game with a feed to Mo Rutledge for a streaking layup. Then, after Rougeau took the ball away falling out of bounds near midcourt, flipping it to Willis. Willis then tried to fire a no-look pass to Rougeau for a slam, but the ball went just off his fingertips.

For Willis, it looks like those few minutes to start things off on the bench lit a spark underneath him, as he's played solid defense and looked confident with the ball since checking in. It'll be worth the ask after the game as to why Bellfield got the start. He has looked good in practices, but was Kruger maybe sending Willis a message? We'll find out ...

15:37, first half, Washburn leads 6-2

René Rougeau scored the first bucket of the (almost) season for the Rebels, but other than a nice inside deuce for the senior wing, things have been a bit sloppy in the opening minutes.

Oscar Bellfield's looked to be in pretty good control of things so far, and the offense has flowed pretty well. hots just aren't falling. Wink Adams has missed a pair of outside jumpers, while Joe Darger missed his first three attempts.

And while the Rebels are just getting their feet wet, Washburn has gone ahead and nabbed a 6-2 lead. Jonathan Leopaul's done the most recent damage with a turnaround shot inside.

It doesn't look like Kruger's going away from Bellfield, even after he turned the ball over under pressure heading into the game's first full break.

No freaking out yet, folks. It's just an exhibition.

PREGAME, Part Deux

Interesting pregame development, as Lon Kruger has decided to go with Oscar Bellfield will start the game at the point instead of Tre'Von Willis.

So much for big prediction No. 1. Lets see how this goes.

PREGAME

Aaaaaaaaand it's basketball season. Welcome. Now that joke goes out the window until next summer.

The new scenery here at the Thomas & Mack Center is pretty nice, I must say. I've already overheard a handful of comments regarding the center-hung scoreboard, with video that looks like it's true HD quality.

But enough of the aesthetics. Lets talk hoops. I've been waiting to talk hoops for far too long.

Tonight the Washburn Ichabods come to town. A couple of them have settled in on the courtside seats to watch the Legends game currently taking place on the Mack floor. Unfortunately, Greg Anthony - maybe the biggest name involved - is not suited up. Though he did show up just a few minutes ago and is making the rounds, glad-handing and whatnot.

The 'Bods come to town for the third leg of their three-game exhibition gauntlet. None of them have been what you'd call vacations. Following a 98-79 loss at Kansas, Bob Chipman took his squad the other way down I-70, where Kansas State put an 81-57 slap on them.

Washburn does have some talent, though. They're D-II contenders most years, and expect to hear Lekheythan Malone's name quite a bit. The Arkansas-Little Rock transfer can handle D-I athletes, and word on the street is he'll talk a good game ... and talk some more ... in the process.

But this exhibition is UNLV's prime opportunity to tune up for Saturday's home opener against San Diego. Expect a relatively serious tone to take over the Mack once the Legends have had their time.

That said, in the tradition of the football in-game blogs, we'll go for tonight's three big predictions.

Feel free to add yours below. Lets discuss.

1) Tre'von Willis will put plenty of concerns at ease. In practices this summer, he's had a tendency to get a bit wild when Lon Kruger has left the building. But on the other hand, he's appeared as coachable as you'd want. He's been dubbed the starting point guard for a reason. At 6-foot-4, he looks the part, and has the athleticism to match it. Oscar Bellfield's done a good job of pushing him so far in preseason practices, but don't think that Kruger is ready just yet to hand the car keys over to the true freshman. Willis might take a second to settle in, but I think he'll be fine and show why the job is his.

2) DeShawn Mitchell won't score 40 points. But he'll score between four and eight, and there'll be a couple of ridiculous dunks in there. Every team's gotta have that guy. For this team, he appears to fit the bill. Now we'll wait and see how the rest of his game develops.

3) And no matter what, it'll be hard not to respect Darris Santee. He won't be the shot-blocker that Beas Hamga can potentially be, but Santee is the kind of guy college coaches love to have. He's a big-bodied, blue-collar worker in the paint. No flash, just production. He should have his way against a smallish Washburn team.

Talk to you close to tip-time.