Rebels rely on subs to devour Rams

Steve Addy

Friday, Feb. 11, 2000 | 9:24 a.m.

In the narrowest sense, UNLV merely held serve by beating Colorado State 74-63 Thursday night, continuing its spirited pursuit of first-place Utah in the Mountain West Conference.

But in the big picture, the Rebels gained a victory that could pay more than tangible benefits down the line.

The way they won could pay psychic dividends in the short term, fostering the all-for-one bond that their schedule will surely demand in the next week or so.

When you win a close game while your two best players shoot 2-of-15 and finish 20 points under their combined average, the rest of the team feels elevated for picking up the slack.

When four guys on your bench make solid contributions, including a couple who rarely get prime minutes, that's a confidence boost that can't be easily manufactured.

And when the coach presses the right buttons, especially with timely substitutions, it assures the players that he'll probably put them in position to win, if only they will do their part.

Abstract concepts? Perhaps, but the Rebels want all of them working in their favor over the next 10 days when they host Wyoming Saturday, then visit BYU and Utah. It can't hurt that they just beat a scary CSU club with Mark Dickel scoring only seven points and Kaspars Kambala six. Dickel made only 1-of-10 shots, while Kambala went 1-of-5 with no attempts in the second half.

"Mark and Kas struggled a little, but the other guys picked them up," coach Bill Bayno said. "We found a way to win playing ugly. If you defend and play hard, you can win games even when you're not clicking on the offensive end. We beat them with our defense. Our perimeter defense was just tremendous in the second half."

Thursday's victory boosted UNLV to 15-5 overall and 6-2 in the conference, still a game behind No. 21 Utah, which pounded last-place San Diego State 83-65 on Thursday night.

UNLV won not only because freshman Dalron Johnson took over on offense, compiling 14 of his 16 points in the second half, but because of valuable contributions by subs Danny Brotherson, Ike Epps and Chris Richardson.

Brotherson scored 15 points in 31 minutes, including a tip-in that gave UNLV a five-point lead with 1:01 to play, and he helped harrass the nation's top 3-point team into a 6-of-23 night.

Epps didn't score, but on a night when Kambala was heavy-legged, the senior big man gave Bayno an effective alternative in the low post. Epps grabbed four rebounds in 13 minutes, and his defense on Rams forward Ceedric Goodwyn was so energetic that Bayno alternated him and Kambala for the final five minutes.

Kambala is the conference's leading rebounder, but he played only offensive possessions at the end, while Epps handled the defensive duties -- a gutsy move by Bayno that worked wonderfully.

"Ike was a good matchup on Goodwyn," Bayno said. "Ike is a defensive presence who covers so much ground, and (alternating) defense-offense with Kas was working well, so we went back to it."

Epps said, "I stepped in where Kas left off. I just tried to stay active and move my feet."

Richardson had some fine moments in a four-minute span midway in the second half, fueling the Rebels on both ends. His rebound enabled a fast-break layup by Brotherson, then Richardson made a steal and layup for a 45-45 tie. On the next possession, he got ahead of the pack for a dunk on Trevor Diggs' long outlet, lifting the announced crowd of 11,455 out of its seats.

"Chris used his hands and his quickness and made two big plays," Bayno acknowledged.

The Rebels won by scoring the final 10 points. They took the lead for good with 3:20 left when Johnson's 3-pointer hit the front rim and bounced through for a 64-61 lead. Johnson had gotten another favorable bounce with eight minutes left, banking in a 3-pointer as the shot clock was running out. It was that kind of night for UNLV.

Diggs added 15 points for the Rebels and Dickel had nine assists. The point guard kept bulling into the lane, but couldn't get a shot to fall. Likewise, Kambala couldn't convert in the paint either. His last field goal attempt came with 7:29 left in the first half.

"We did a decent job of Kas and limited Dickel's penetration," CSU coach Ritchie McKay said. "We just weren't good enough for 40 minutes."

John Sivesind's 15 points led the Rams.