Rebels escape bad trip with one win to credit

Steve Carp

Monday, Feb. 10, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

SAN DIEGO -- Realistically, UNLV got what it needed on the toughest road trip in the Western Athletic Conference -- a split.

Sure, the Rebels nearly put themselves in a position to steal one at Hawaii Thursday and set up the possibility of a sweep. But even if Sunshine Smith's layup had dropped instead of spinning out, there was no guarantee UNLV would have prevailed in overtime.

But by defeating San Diego State 78-71 Saturday, Bill Bayno's team got the necessary split, kept pace with Wyoming and joined Colorado State in a three-way tie for third place in the Pacific Division at 6-4.

"I don't tell the team this, but all you can do is get a split," Bayno said of the grueling trip. "Nobody has swept Hawaii and San Diego this year.

"We knew we had to get at least one, so we tried to prepare mentally for San Diego and keep them focused. One day isn't enough to really prepare."

The win, which upped UNLV's overall record to 14-7, guaranteed UNLV its first .500 season in three years. More important, the Rebels regained some momentum. UNLV's next four games are in the Thomas & Mack Center, beginning Saturday against struggling San Jose State.

Following that comes the emotional return of Jerry Tarkanian to Las Vegas a week from tonight. The homestand concludes with Air Force Feb. 20 and Texas Christian Feb. 22.

If UNLV expects to provide its seniors with a trip to the NCAA Tournament, the Rebels will have to hold serve on their home court, something they have struggled with in conference play. A clean sweep at home would virtually guarantee a trip to the NIT and probably keep alive the Rebels' NCAA dreams.

"We have to stick to the post-Colorado State formula," Bayno said of the recipe for successful home cooking. "We've got to dive on the floor, take charges and rebound."

UNLV did that for the most part in both games on this short but lengthy road trip. The Rebels played hard in Hawaii except for a lapse in the final minute of the first half. And after flying all night Thursday back to the mainland and having just one day to prepare for San Diego State, there were enough fresh legs to dominate the Aztecs, especially up front.

As in the first meeting, UNLV dominated on the boards as Warren Rosegreen once again came up big against the Aztecs. Rosegreen posted an impressive double-double of 12 points and 15 rebounds, setting the tone for his teammates.

Fellow senior Tony Lane was active, scoring 10 points inside and picking up six boards. Keon Clark played through foul trouble and matched Lane's numbers with 10 points and six boards. The trio helped give the Rebels a 49-36 edge on the glass.

But when the Rebels needed an offensive spark, Tyrone Nesby was there. The 6-7 junior, who has been trying to regain his shooting stroke, took advantage of a mismatch with 6-1 Will Porter and schooled the Aztecs in the second half.

Posting up his shorter adversary, Nesby scored 19 of his team-high 23 points in the second half. And when Porter got help, Nesby took it outside, hitting consecutive 3-pointers from the left corner to give UNLV a 13-point lead, its largest, with 7:48 to play.

"Tyrone got good shots because he was posting up and attacking," Bayno said of Nesby's breakout performance, his best since the first meeting with San Diego State Jan. 9 when he poured in 24 points.

"But it wasn't just Tyrone. Everyone stepped up. I thought Warren and Tony were the difference. They boarded. They attacked."

Nesby said he knew he had a mismatch with Porter. But he still had to make the shots.

"Coach ran a lot of plays for me and I think that helped get my confidence going," he said. "I've been a little frustrated lately with the way I've been shooting. Maybe a game like this will help me, especially now that we're going home for four."

Nesby said the split was good, especially winning the second one.

"It'll bring our confidence up," he said. "It would have been nice to get two. But one isn't bad. At least it's better than 0-2."