Dickel-Daniels combo clicking

Steve Carp

Thursday, Dec. 3, 1998 | 11:03 a.m.

RENO -- It's an old remedy, one that Bill Bayno has used with mixed success.

To deal with his point guard dilemma, Bayno opted to play Mark Dickel and Greedy Daniels together. The ploy worked at various times last year, but it also backfired from time to time.

However, with Daniels once again playing under control and with poise and Dickel running the offense patiently, the Rebels were able to dominate against Nevada-Reno's backcourt. And on a night where heroes abounded in UNLV's 84-69 win, Daniels and Dickel more than earned their laurels.

Hitting 8 of 9 from the floor and 5 of 6 from the line, Daniels posted a career-high 23 points in 31 solid minutes. But he also did a great job defensively, locking up UNR's point guard tandem of Tommy Zapata and Derrick Anderson. He had five steals, four assists and just two turnovers to go with his 23 points. Zapata and Anderson had seven turnovers between them.

Dickel, who had seven points, six assists and just two turnovers while playing 28 minutes, helped key UNLV's first-half comeback. His steady play carried over to the second half as he came up with three steals to help boost UNLV's record to 4-2.

"Whatever it takes to win," Daniels said when asked about he and Dickel sharing the backcourt. "That's all I ask -- a total team effort on defense."

With 6-foot-9 center Kaspars Kambala suspended for Wednesday's game for violating team rules, Bayno had no choice but to go small. That meant the guards had to do a good job of pressuring the ball and not allow UNR to just kick it inside uncontested to its big front line.

Daniels said adjusting to a lineup minus the 6-9 Kambala wasn't as tough as it might have initially appeared.

"It's like a pickup game," he said. "You can't worry about the personnel. You just play. That's all we did tonight, we went out and played together."

"The aggressiveness they had was the aggressiveness that any basketball team has to have in order to win," UNR's Pat Foster said.

Hoop du jour

It was a homecoming for UNLV freshman Matt Siebrandt, who played locally at Galena High. But the 6-7 forward didn't get to play Wednesday. Bayno essentially played six in his rotation as Brian Keefe played 18 minutes, only five in the second half. Desmond Herod, Ike Epps and Chris Richardson all saw token action. ... With his four blocks Wednesday, Shawn Marion now has 15 in six games. ... Even without Kambala, UNLV won the battle of the boards convincingly, 36-27. ... The Rebels now lead the series 45-15.