Rebels fail tall test in capital

Steve Addy

Friday, Jan. 26, 2001 | 10:41 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- The wrong guy came back to haunt Max Good and the Rebels.

But if it hadn't been Georgetown backup center Wesley Wilson, it would have been somebody else.

The 10th-ranked Hoyas simply had too much depth and inside strength for UNLV in their 79-62 victory Thursday at the MCI Center. Led by Wilson's 18 points, three Georgetown big men compiled 42 points and 21 rebounds against the outmanned Rebels, who faded fast after taking a 15-5 lead.

Instead of building on their hot start, the Rebels (11-8) became just another victim of Georgetown's rugged defense, relentless rebounding and opportunistic offense.

The Hoyas (17-1) entered as the NCAA leaders in field goal defense (36.5 percent) and held UNLV to 35.7. They were also No. 2 in rebound margin (13.2) and outboarded the Rebels by 16 (52-36). Things went pretty much by the book once Georgetown withstood UNLV's initial burst.

"We probably had too good a start," Good said. "That gave them a wakeup call early. In retrospect, sometimes you're better off leading 7-5 and kind of lulling them to sleep."

The game's only surprise was that Wilson was the more impressive of Good's two former players on the Georgetown roster. Star point guard Kevin Braswell and Wilson were backups on Good's 1998 Maine Central Institute team that finished 35-0.

While Braswell struggled, shooting 2-of-9 in an eight-point night, Wilson came off the bench to rouse the Hoyas from their early funk, and dominated the rest of the way on his 21st birthday. He got his 18 points in only 19 minutes, well above his 7.1 scoring average.

"Wesley concentrated hard on academics when he was at (Maine Central), but you knew he was going to be a really good player," Good said. "He's got size and strength (6-11, 235). He came to the right system."

Wilson also supplied six rebounds, and four were offensive, helping the Hoyas to their big edge on the glass. They got 20 offensive rebounds, equaling UNLV's defensive boards.

Forward Mike Sweetney (6-foot-8, 260) and center Ruben Boumtje Boumtje (7-0, 260), Georgetown's starting big men, scored 12 points each. Seven of their eight baskets came in the dunk zone, as they constantly gained superior inside position for layups and put-backs.

Center Kaspars Kambala gave the Rebels 32 minutes and tallied 12 points and 10 boards, but had no help in the middle once Wilson got the Hoyas rolling. Georgetown missed its first seven shots as UNLV went up 11-2, but Wilson hit three straight baskets and the rally was on.

The Hoyas finally pulled even at 19-19, went ahead 22-21 and ended the half with a 9-2 burst to take a 41-35 lead. An 11-3 run to start the second half made it 52-38 and the Rebels were finished.

Georgetown coach Craig Esherick cautioned his team that the Rebels might start with a flourish, having watched film of their Dec. 16 game against Cincinnati. That night UNLV breezed to a 12-1 lead before losing 90-72.

"When I called timeout (at 11-2), I told our guys that UNLV has started games like this before and we had to ride it out," Esherick said. "We settled down and did the job."

It didn't help the Rebels' staying power that Kambala could barely get a shot to fall. He shot 6-of-18, with most of his misses on layups and tips. After a while, he began shaking his head as shot after shot bounced off the rim.

"I couldn't buy a layup," Kambala said. "After the last miss, I just ran back and smiled. It was like, OK, it's not my night. No sense getting frustrated."

Good said, "Kas gave good effort. They're just too big. Georgetown is very good. They may be powerful enough to be a Final Four team. They have all their bases covered."

It also hurt the Rebels when Dalron Johnson exited with a right ankle sprain midway in the second half. He got the ankle re-taped and could have re-entered had the game been closer, Good said. His status for Saturday's home game against San Diego State will be determined.

Johnson led UNLV with 14 points and Lou Kelly added 12.

Las Vegas native Demetrius Hunter (Cheyenne HS) scored 11 for Georgetown, but shot only 2-of-9.