Aztecs’ balance poses puzzle

Steve Addy

Friday, Jan. 25, 2002 | 9:53 a.m.

Next up

WHAT: UNLV (9-7) at San Diego St. (11-7)

WHEN: Saturday, 7:35 p.m.

WHERE: Cox Arena, San Diego

TV: Las Vegas ONE/Cable 39

RADIO: KBAD 920-AM

Defensive responsibility must be more than a vague chalkboard concept when UNLV visits San Diego State on Saturday night. It has to be the Rebels' guiding principle.

UNLV will be tempted to get into a run-and-gun game with the high-scoring Aztecs, and that is OK with coach Charlie Spoonhour. But to be successful at that tempo, the Rebels must commit to sprinting back defensively as quickly as they went the other way.

Once they are in a defensive posture, the Rebels have to be ready to guard their men 1-on-1, because San Diego State has too many weapons for them to rely on double-teams. Help is available if the main defender is beaten, but then someone else becomes unguarded.

Such is the predicament facing UNLV, which will try to square its Mountain West record at 3-3. SDSU's 78.3-point average ranks second in the MWC, and its offensive balance forces opponents to make difficult choices.

If the Rebels constantly double-team Aztecs power forward Randy Holcomb, the league's No. 2 scorer at 18 points game, they're risking giving too much room to junior center Mike Mackell, who averages 15.2 points and six rebounds in MWC play.

On the perimeter, the Rebels have no choice but to bear down on both starting guards. Al Faux, one of the top non-scholarship players in the nation, leads the MWC in scoring with 18.6 points per game and Syracuse transfer Tony Bland is fourth with 16.8.

"They get baskets in bunches, like grapes," Spoonhour said. "You can't leave Faux. If you do, he'll burn you. He's a really good shooter."

Then there's the Holcomb-Mackell decision under the basket, where the Rebels have been dominated by opponents with lesser big men than the Aztecs.

"Mackell is a hard matchup for everybody," Spoonhour said. "When he sees a shooter with the ball, like Faux or Holcomb, he starts fighting for (rebounding) position. He's smart."

So far, the Rebels (2-3 MWC) and Aztecs (1-3) have similar league ledgers, aside from UNLV's victory over Air Force, whom SDSU has not played.

Both clubs beat Colorado State at home, lost to Wyoming at home and were swept on their trip to Utah and BYU.

Spoonhour said he will continue to start swingman Lou Kelly in place of a center, but SDSU's size edge will ensure ample minutes for big men Omari Pearson and Lou Amundson.