Banks steals the show in Rebels win

Steve Addy

Saturday, Nov. 11, 2000 | 10:09 a.m.

Maybe the Rebels won't miss point guard Mark Dickel so much after all.

Though Lafonte Johnson is the likely replacement for the graduated Dickel, junior walk-on Jevon Banks showed Friday night that he is capable of helping greatly at the position.

In UNLV's second and final exhibition, Banks scored 10 points and had six mostly flashy assists as the Rebels beat the L.A. Stars 91-79 before about 3,000 fans at the Thomas & Mack Center.

During a 13-4 Rebels run in the second half, Banks had a 3-pointer, a long 2-pointer and a pair of nifty behind-the-back passes that resulted in layups for Kaspars Kambala and Dalron Johnson.

The spurt gave UNLV a 69-51 lead, enough to survive a sloppy closing stretch in which the Stars pulled within eight.

Banks was playing so well -- he also had no turnovers in 17 minutes -- that Lafonte Johnson was barely needed (10 minutes).

"(Banks) just had it going, so I wasn't going to take him out," Rebels coach Bill Bayno said. "He was playing well, playing hard, and I felt like I needed to reward him."

Banks is returning to Division I basketball after more than a year on the sidelines. He prepped locally at Valley High and played briefly at Texas Tech two years ago.

"I am starting to feel comfortable," Banks said. "It doesn't really matter to me who starts. I'm just blessed to be back on the court. My style is to push the ball and that is what I tried to do tonight."

Of his impressive passing on the fast break, Banks joked, "I was bringing back the old Runnin' Rebels style."

Though UNLV won both exhibitions with a limited game plan, Bayno was not happy with the way his team played in Friday's second half. The defense was spotty, while the ball movement on offense wasn't nearly as good as in Tuesday's 94-80 win over the Delta Jammers.

"The way we finished that game was embarrassing," he said. "We played the game in spurts. We have a long way to go."

The Rebels begin the regular season next Friday against NCAA tournament team Northern Arizona, coached by former Bishop Gorman coach Mike Adras.

Five Rebels scored in double figures, led by Dalron Johnson with 21 (and 11 rebounds). Kambala, showing good moves in the low post, had 16 points and 13 rebounds. Joining Banks with 10 points were Trevor Diggs and Sylvester Dotson, the latter coming back from a sprained ankle.

Along the perimeter, Lou Kelly showed signs of getting his shooting eye. After going 2-of-10 on Tuesday, he went 4-of-8, scored nine points and had five rebounds in 23 minutes.

For the Stars, 0-6 on their tour against Division I teams, former Rebel Warren Rosegreen had 17 points and 11 rebounds. Reggie Manuel, also from UNLV (1991-95), scored 11.

archive