Thomas applies a hurtin’ to UNLV

THE NUMBERS: UNLV committed just 13 turnovers. But the Rebels had nine of those miscues in the first half, four of which came during a 5:21 drought when New Mexico took control, and it helped deci

Friday, Jan. 16, 1998 | 11:52 a.m.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Kenny Thomas may want to reconsider.

A day after he announced his intention to return to New Mexico for his senior season and wait for the NBA, the 6-foot-8 junior scored 22 points, including the first 13 to begin the second half, to help the 15th-ranked Lobos cruise to a 79-61 win over UNLV.

There were scouts from 15 NBA teams at The Pit Thursday to watch two of the college game's premier big men slug it out. After the Rebels' Keon Clark struggled at both ends of the floor, scoring just nine points on 4-for-11 shooting and giving up the bulk of Clayton Shields' 19 points, that dream of being the No. 1 overall pick in the June NBA Draft may have to be tempered.

If anything, Thomas played like a lottery pick. He battled both Clark and Kaspars Kambala and also had to deal with Issiah Epps' physical play in the post. But he responded with a great effort, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking three shots to go along with the 22 points.

"Kenny had to do a good job in the second half," said New Mexico coach Dave Bliss. "We tried to go down to him and he made some really great adjustments."

Thomas, who was saddled with early foul trouble in the first half, worked harder to establish good position inside and his teammates were able to get him the ball. The Rebels simply couldn't contain him once he got going.

"But Keon Clark is a great player," Thomas said. "He's going to go high in the draft as projected. And Kambala is the strongest player I've played against, along with Jahadi White of Georgetown. He's tough to move out of there.

"I knew they were going to bang so I was prepared to play a physical game."

Clark was asked to guard a quick player, Shields, on the wing. At times, he appeared confused, not sure if he should sag off or extend to where Shields was camped out by the 3-point arc.

It was sort of no-man's land and Shields was able to take advantage.

"Keon has unbelievable leaping ability and a large wing span," Shields said. "He makes it hard to get your shot off. He's the type of person who can play off of you and still get a piece of your shot."

Shields used his teammates' screens to get open looks. And even though Clark had six blocked shots, he simply couldn't get to all of them.

"It was a tough night for Keon," said UNLV coach Bill Bayno. "He really struggled to cover a small type of player. But let's keep in mind this was only his third game back."

Unhappy homecoming

For UNLV senior guard Corky Ausborne, the return to Albuquerque to play against his former school could have been better.

He would have loved to have left The Pit with a win. But Ausborne, who played for the Lobos in 1994-95 before moving on, wasn't treated too shabbily by the 17,817 who showed up.

He caught a few boos when he was introduced with the UNLV starters. However, just before tipoff, Lobos coach Dave Bliss went out on to the floor to shake Ausborne's hand.

"Corky's still got the greatest smile in the world," Bliss said.

Ausborne played 27 minutes and scored five points. The Lobos did a good job of denying him the ball as he only took five shots.

Hoop du jour

* STREAK ENDS: Kambala was closing in on Robert Smith's school record of 27 consecutive free throws made. But when the 6-9 freshman missed with 2:06 to play to complete a three-point play, his run at the record ended at 23. Kambala had made 21 straight from the line going into Thursday's game and hit a pair in the first half to get to 23. He is shooting 77 percent for the season. ... But as one streak ended, another continued. The win was New Mexico's 37th in a row at The Pit. Only Kansas, with 54 straight wins at Allen Fieldhouse, has a longer run at home than the Lobos.