Money in the Banks

the numbers

Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2003 | 10:21 a.m.

First Half: UNLV 41-24

The Man: Rebel point guard Marcus Banks scored 16 points to go with five assists and five steals.

Turning Point: After quickly falling behind, 4-0, the Rebels dominated the next nine minutes, outscoring the Rams, 23-5 over that span including a 15-0 spurt to take a 23-9 lead. Colorado State never got closer than 10 points.

Game within the game: With starting guard Demetrius Hunter in street clothes because of Achilles' tendinitis, UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour inserted 6-foot-8 junior forward James Peters into the starting lineup to counter Colorado State's height advantage. The strategy worked well as Peters scored 10 points and helped limit Rams' 7-footer Matt Nelson to just two first half points.

Second Half: UNLV 90-57

The Man: Banks again. The 6-foot-2 senior from Cimarron High School finished with 31 points on 10-of-14 shooting, made 11-of-12 free throws, tied a season high with eight steals and also dished off seven assists.

Turning Point: After Nelson powered in an eight-footer to cut UNLV's lead to 19, 45-26, Peters swung the momentum back to the Rebels when he stole the ball, dribbled the length of the floor and finished with a big dunk.

Game within the game: Early in the second half, Banks bounced his inbounds pass under the UNLV basket off the backside of Nelson to himself, went up and dropped the ball in while being fouled by the startled Nelson for a 3-point play.