Exposed on the road

Steve Addy

Monday, Nov. 26, 2001 | 10:32 a.m.

What Wisconsin and Nicholls State obscured, Cincinnati illuminated.

And now UNLV has no doubts about where improvement is needed.

The Rebels' 74-61 loss at Cincinnati on Saturday didn't reveal much that wasn't already presumed. But it showed that their deficiencies will be harder to mask than their first two games indicated.

Entering the season, the bulk-needy Rebels were expected to struggle in the low post on both ends, their outside shooting was considered suspect and they were breaking in a new point guard, albeit one with great promise. They would also be leaning heavily on Dalron Johnson for scoring.

But in victories over Wisconsin and Nicholls State, the Rebels hurdled those problems. They shot 56 and 60 percent, respectively, largely from the perimeter. They did a solid job on the boards, outrebounding bigger Wisconsin 35-32 and Nicholls State 55-23.

Point guard Marcus Banks' transition to Division I was going smoothly, and his 32 points added to a balanced scoring attack that did not put an unacceptable burden on Johnson.

Against Cincinnati, most of the Rebels' progress was undone, or at least shown to be a product of their competition in the first two games. Though they won't play many teams with the Bearcats' talent, they now know they can't afford to do anything in half-measure.

Such as: boxing out on rebounds, pressuring the ball to prevent easy passes into the low post, holding their offensive position under the basket and finishing layups on drives up the lane.

The Rebels did none of those things well Saturday and trailed by as much as 21 before making it deceivingly close in the final minutes. They shot 40 percent and were outrebounded 40-30.

"First road games usually stink, and we were pretty stinky," coach Charlie Spoonhour said. "After looking at the film, it was not the worst performance in the world, especially considering who we were playing, but there are areas we need to improve upon."

The Rebels, who play at Washington (3-1) on Wednesday night, stayed within four late in the first half, but Cincy pulled away behind Steve Logan's 18 second-half points. He made 4-of-4 3-pointers, two over Banks and one each over Lafonte Johnson and Vince Booker.

That was only part of Banks' baptism against good competition. He shot 3-of-7 for six points, missed two layups and committed four turnovers in 31 minutes, mainly from overaggressiveness.

"He had good people defending him, and when he beat his man, he ran into all kinds of congestion," Spoonhour said. "He's learning that when you go on the road, they will bump you and you don't get the same whistle."

Offensively, the coach plans to preach greater patience. He wants a more concerted effort to work the ball inside, especially if outside shots aren't falling. They weren't on Saturday, except for sub Lou Kelly, who scored 19 on 7-of-9. Johnson was 4-of-19 for 12 points.

"I don't think guys are being selfish, but you can always get a jump shot," Spoonhour said. "If the ball goes in, that's great. If it doesn't, you're in trouble. When you make only one or two passes and take a jump shot, your chances of getting the rebound are slim.

"We've got to find someone who can make something happen down around the goal."

On defense, the Rebels didn't do badly in transition, though Logan victimized them a few times. Mainly, their halfcourt defense did them in. Cincinnati had little trouble throwing the ball inside to 6-10 center Donald Little, whose 14 points were the second-most of his career.

"We need more pressure on the perimeter. We've got to keep the ball from going into the post like that," Spoonhour said.

He said no lineup changes are planned for the Washington game.