Rebels salvage win in Maui, beat Chaminade 90-78

Steve Addy

Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2000 | 2:04 a.m.

LAHAINA, Hawaii -- The Rebels were hoping for much more from the Maui Invitational, but they'll have to be happy with not taking last place.

After tough losses to No. 8 Illinois and Louisville in their first two games, the Rebels bid farewell to the Hawaiian islands Wednesday with a 90-78 victory over Division II host Chaminade, leaving them seventh in the eight-team field.

The win kept UNLV (2-2) from being shut out in the tournament, but it was a joyless exercise for all parties. The Rebels did not have much spark left for their third game in three days -- the 8:30 a.m. tipoff didn't help, either -- and they played just well enough to win.

Chaminade refused to be blown out, even taking a 42-40 lead early in the second half. UNLV took control with a 20-7 spurt for a 68-54 lead, but Chaminade wouldn't fold, shaving the deficit to six with 1:09 to go.

The Rebels closed out the victory at the free throw line, with Lafonte Johnson making four straight and Kaspars Kambala two in the final 52 seconds.

Those were Kambala's only points of the final 9:35, but he still finished with 29 points and 15 rebounds. He had 80 points in the tournament, giving him 1,324 in his UNLV career and moving him ahead of Glen Gondrezick (1,311) for 13th on the Rebels' all-time scoring list.

Otherwise the game was immemorable. After losses to Illinois (74-69) and Louisville (86-85 OT), the Rebels seemed more eager to get back to the mainland for some turkey and stuffing.

"It was hard to get going at 8:30 in the morning," Kambala said. "But we knew we couldn't afford to lose this game."

"After giving it all we've got against two great teams and coming up short, we just came out flat," UNLV coach Bill Bayno said. "Chaminade had nothing to lose. By far, this was our toughest game of the tournament.

"We've got to take the win and move on. We are obviously better than we played today. You play three games in three days without a lot of depth and this is what happens. Don't judge us on this game. Judge us on Illinois and Louisville."

The Rebels were so sluggish that Bayno summoned 6-foot-8-inch freshman forward Omari Pearson and he responded with a fine debut -- 11 points and three rebounds in 10 minutes. He entered midway in the first half and provided an immediate boost with a dunk, two free throws and a good rebound.

Pearson wound up making 4-of-6 shots, including a 3-pointer. His contribution was vital after a dispirited start by Dalron Johnson (who eventually fouled out with two points) and two quick fouls by backup forward Sylvester Dotson.

"I hesitated a little (to use Pearson), but I figured this was a time to play him and get him some minutes, even if he struggled," Bayno said.

But Pearson didn't struggle at all.

"I just played hard. That's all I can do," Pearson said. "When Coach called on me, I didn't know how to respond. I was pretty nervous. But I was just happy to get a chance."

Jermaine Lewis and Trevor Diggs scored 16 points each for the Rebels, and Lafonte Johnson had 14. For Chaminade (0-3), guard C.J. Cowgill scored 19 before fouling out with 21 seconds left.

The Rebels host Cal State-Northridge at 7:35 p.m. Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center.