Diggs saves day for Rebels

Steve Addy

Friday, Dec. 29, 2000 | 10:21 a.m.

The Rebels steered straight into the ditch again Thursday night.

Luckily, Trevor Diggs was standing by with a tow rope.

Continuing their risky habit of allowing big first-half deficits, the Rebels rallied behind Diggs' career-high 34 points and his sturdy defense to beat pesky Monmouth 81-70 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

If not for Diggs' best game in a UNLV uniform, the Rebels (6-5) almost certainly would've lost. He scored their first 12 points, preventing Monmouth (6-3) from running away, then scored 22 in the second half when UNLV gradually took control. He made 11-of-17 shots and all eight free throws.

Diggs was just as excellent on defense, holding Monmouth scoring leader Rahsaan Johnson to nine points on only 3-of-18 shooting. Johnson hadn't scored fewer than 15 points in the Hawks' first eight games, but Diggs never let him heat up. Johnson committed nine turnovers.

Diggs was coming off a two-point game against Pepperdine last Friday, when he shot only 1-of-7 and didn't start because he was late for practice.

"Once my shot was falling early, I knew I was going to have a good night," he said. "But no matter what, I was going to concentrate on defense. All week long, I heard about stopping Johnson. But my shot starting falling, too, so they kind of fed off each other."

"Trevor is growing in front of our eyes," Rebels coach Max Good said. "He's been fragile at times in the past, even to the point of crying on the bench a couple of times last year, but he's really growing up. I love his attitude.

"It wasn't just his 34 points tonight. He held a good player to 3-of-18 and nine points."

All's well that ended well, but UNLV made it interesting again, falling behind 14-5 after seven minutes.

Slow starts have become the Rebels' latest custom. In the home win over Pepperdine, they trailed 20-6 before Lou Kelly rescued them. Three games ago, Division II Alaska-Anchorage led most of the first half on UNLV's home court.

It's as if the Rebels are trying to turn their new coach into Mad Max.

"Gosh, some way or another, we have to find a way to get started better," Good said. "We've got to get jump-started and play a little better offensively. Our defense kept us in the game."

One solution Good will ponder is replacing starting point guard Lafonte Johnson with walk-on Vince Booker on Sunday at Old Dominion. Like the Pepperdine game, when Booker played 32 minutes and Johnson eight (none in the second half), Booker shined against Monmouth.

Johnson exited after seven minutes with the Rebels trailing by nine. As soon as Booker got in, UNLV's offense settled down and the comeback began. Johnson did not get back in, while Booker finished with nine points, four assists and two steals in 32 minutes.

Good doesn't want to blame Johnson for the slow starts, but the freshman is clearly struggling to get the Rebels into their offense, and sooner or later the comebacks are going to run cold.

"That (change) is probably something we've got to look at," Good said. "It might be a relief to (Johnson). It's something we'll talk to him about."

Perhaps that lineup change will produce better results than Thursday's. Dalron Johnson could not start because of a back strain and Jermaine Lewis felt more comfortable off the bench, so Good started Chris Richardson and Danny Brotherson.

Like Lafonte Johnson, Richardson was yanked after seven minutes and didn't play again, and Brotherson went scoreless in 21 minutes, missing a dunk.

Meanwhile, Dalron Johnson gave a gritty effort despite his sore back, compiling 12 points and nine rebounds. He wound up playing a team-high 33 minutes off the bench.

"We didn't want to play Dalron at all," Good said. "But (Richardson) was trying too hard and he wasn't in any kind of rhythm, so we asked Dalron if he could go. He gave us good minutes."

But UNLV's other big man, Kaspars Kambala, continues to puzzle. He finished with 16 points (6-of-12) and seven rebounds in 20 minutes, but was ineffective except for a five-minute span in the second half. He scored nine points in a 22-10 run that put UNLV ahead 50-44.

"To be honest, I'm baffled," Good said of Kambala. "It might help him to go on the road."

Kambala played only three minutes in the first half, going scoreless with two fouls. But other than Diggs, he had plenty of company in his misery. The Rebels shot 3-of-19 in the first nine minutes, and Diggs had all three baskets.

If not for 18 Monmouth turnovers in the half, the Rebels might've gotten blown out.

"Whatever could go wrong in the first half went wrong," Good said. "It's frustrating because the kids are trying so hard, but trying hard only gets you so far. We have to start executing."

After scoring a team-high 14 points vs. Pepperdine, Lou Kelly could not get untracked against Monmouth. He forced shots in the first half, went 1-of-4 in six minutes and didn't return. ...

Jevon Banks (sprained ankle) didn't make the trip to Norfolk, Va., for the Old Dominion game.