Struggling Rebels hunting for first MWC win

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Jan. 27, 2003 | 10:25 a.m.

What: UNLV (11-5, 0-3) at New Mexico (7-9, 1-2)

When: Today, 9 p.m.

Where: The Pit, Albuquerque

TV: ESPN, Ch. 30

Radio: KBAD 920-AM

Line: UNLV by 3

Total: 145 points

ALBUQUERQUE -- UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour didn't see it coming. Neither did senior forward Dalron Johnson.

"It," of course, is UNLV's 0-3 start in Mountain West Conference play.

The Rebels (11-5, 0-3) enter tonight's nationally televised matchup with New Mexico (7-9, 1-2) in sole possession of last place in the MWC. This from a veteran squad expected to challenge Utah, BYU and Wyoming for the conference title.

"I knew that (an 0-3) start was a possibility because two of our first three games were on the road and the other was against Utah," Spoonhour said. "Should we be? No. But we are. We have not played well in portions of all three games. When we've had a chance to make a big play to win a game, we haven't made it."

"If I had envisioned an 0-3 start, that would not have shown any confidence in my teammates or myself," said Johnson after a spirited 90-minute workout Sunday afternoon at The Pit.

Despite that the Rebels are off to their worst conference start since the 1969-70 season when Roland Todd's squad began 0-3 in West Coast Athletic Conference play, Johnson believes his team will bounce back to make some noise in the MWC race.

"This team hasn't lost confidence," Johnson said. "We don't have anybody moping around which could be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how you look at it. I take it as a good sign and that we're all still together.

"We're 0-3 in league but we're still 11-5 overall. Our goal is to win the conference championship and the conference tournament championship. There's still time. You never know."

If Johnson needs proof, all he has to do is point to that 1969-70 UNLV team. The Rebels rallied to finish 9-5 in WCAC play that year.

UNLV has never started a conference season 0-4. If the Rebels are to avoid that distinction, they'll need to do something they haven't been able to do on the road this season, and that's get off to a good start.

During Saturday afternoon's 75-71 loss at Air Force, the Rebels once again came out tentative and lethargic, scoring just 11 points in the first 12 minutes and finishing with a season-low 25 first half points.

Credit Joe Scott's much improved Falcons (10-6, 1-2) for part of that. Air Force, which appeared to be much more energized for the game, did an outstanding job of rebounding and getting back on defense quickly, forcing the Rebels to run their set offense.

Not surprisingly, UNLV spent much of its Sunday workout on rebounding drills and trying to put some tempo back into the offense.

"We've played three games playing against teams who have been able to set their defenses," Spoonhour said. "Any time the other team has scored they've been able to get back and set it up. We need to try and get the ball down the court quicker before they can have time to do that."

New Mexico has won the last two meetings at The Pit between the schools including a 84-81 overtime decision last year. The Rebels, however, won the last matchup between the teams, 120-117, in double overtime in a wild Mountain West Conference Tournament quarterfinal matchup last March. ... Expect an inspired effort from the Lobos, not just because the game is part of ESPN's Big Monday telecast but also because popular senior guard Senque Carey is scheduled to have surgery at Stanford Medical Center today to remove two discs between vertebrae in his neck. Carey suffered a spinal cord injury on Nov. 25 against Northwestern (La.) State that left him paralyzed in his legs for nearly two weeks. Rehabilitation from surgery could take up to 18 months. There's still time. You never know."