Rebels come up short in loss

Steve Addy

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2001 | 10:52 a.m.

At least UNLV won't begin the basketball season with a false sense of security.

In case they thought they could easily overcome their moderate size and understaffed offense, the Rebels learned Tuesday that those shortcomings will be a constant challenge in their first season under coach Charlie Spoonhour.

In a 73-69 home exhibition loss to Global Sports, a traveling club team, the Rebels were given lessons in low-post offense, rebounding and transition defense.

They also found that they can't concede a double-figure lead to any opponent, because rallies might not be plentiful or sustainable.

After routing the EA Sports All-Stars 96-68 on Saturday night, UNLV didn't fare nearly as well against Global Sports' big front line, which featured players listed at 240, 250, 260 and 270 pounds. Global outscored the Rebels 45-28 in the paint, and that margin was bigger most of the way.

Though UNLV put on an impressive second-half rally, using a 22-9 spurt to take a 58-55 lead with 4:35 to play, poor shooting and defensive errors doomed the Rebels to their first exhibition loss since 1994.

With Saturday's season opener against Wisconsin creeping up, Spoonhour won't have trouble identifying many areas that need shoring up before then.

"We made a lot of mistakes. Thankfully most of them are correctable," he said. "With a three-point lead, we didn't take good shots, then we gave up two run-out baskets because we didn't have anybody (get back on defense). That was the game.

"All that is is knowing who your man is and getting back. That's not too hard. There's five of them and five of us."

But there were other problems. Global spent most of the first half making layups and dunks, mainly because the Rebels were not pressuring the guards hard enough to prevent entry passes to the low post. Once the ball got inside, UNLV's centers were outmatched.

Global also outrebounded the Rebels 38-32, a trend UNLV is going to have trouble breaking all season. Chris Richardson got nine rebounds, but no teammate had more than five.

Most glaringly, UNLV mustered little inside offense, except when point guard Marcus Banks (18 points) began scooting up the lane in the closing minutes. The Rebels' reliance on jump shots showed in their free throw stats; they went to the line only seven times, making four.

If not for some misguided possessions down the stretch, the Rebels probably shot well enough to win, making 44 percent on 30-of-67.

They hit 20-of-39 in the second half, and Dalron Johnson had a 21-point night on 9-of-18 field goals.

But without departed center Kaspars Kambala, it's already obvious there won't be many easy baskets for UNLV in the halfcourt offense.

"Our shot selection has to be more patient, and we have to find somebody who can score on the inside," Spoonhour said. "Right now the only one I feel very comfortable with is Dalron. If we throw it to him, he can catch and score."

The Rebels' most promising spell was their comeback from a 46-36 deficit.

After missing his first six shots, Lou Kelly scored all nine of his points in the 22-9 burst, Johnson had seven points and Banks quarterbacked the club aggressively.

The loudest cheer of the night came when three Rebels dove for loose balls on a possession late in the first half. ...

Marcus Saxon from Utah State led Global Sports (4-6) with 14 points. ...

Attendance was announced at 9,157, but the crowd was probably half that size.