Rebels unveiled

Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2003 | 10:05 a.m.

One of UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour's eager proteges showed up Monday with a hungry band of experienced players at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Even with a mostly unknown group in its first organized game, though, Spoonhour and the Rebels escaped their first exhibition game with a 100-90 victory against the Los Angeles Stars.

It was tight until the final couple of minutes, which Spoonhour expected from a team coached by Rocky Moore.

Spoonhour was instrumental in guiding Moore to Louisiana Tech for graduate school, and Moore was an assistant on Spoonhour's staff at Southeastern Community College in Burlington, Iowa, from 1979-81.

"They know how to play, and they'll make you work hard," Spoonhour said of the Stars. "Those guys played hard. They had their feet on the ground. We ran into a bunch of guys who know what they're doing."

Former Kansas shooting guard Jelani Janisse blistered a variety of UNLV defenders for 29 points, on 12-of-20 shooting. He also gave out seven assists in his game-high 37 minutes.

But UNLV had answers, and -- which Moore expected -- counters. The two most impressive Rebels were newcomers who spent last season helping Los Angeles City College win a state junior college championship.

Point guard Jerel Blassingame recorded a double-double, with 16 points and 11 assists, while swingman Romel Beck poured in a team-best 26 points.

After the game, Moore slipped into a side office in a Mack tunnel to give UNLV assistant coach Jay Spoonhour his review of what he saw in the Rebels.

The speedy Blassingame, and slippery and savvy, Beck were at the top of Moore's list.

"Those two really stepped up," said Moore, who coached NBAer Jacque Vaughn in high school at Pasadena (Calif.) Muir and expects to be reinstated as coach at Pasadena City College for the 2004-05 season.

"They hit some big-time shots and made some big-time plays. Those two guys really stood out, in my mind. And they're just going to get better in Charlie's system."

Which just happens to have formed Moore's principles and foundation.

"It's deliberate and disciplined, and he cares about his players," Moore said. "I grew up on 'Spoonball.' He's always been there for me, a real father figure."

Moore nearly aced his mentor.

The Stars, 0-6 on their barnstorming exhibition tour, led by as many as eight points in the first 12 minutes as Spoonhour experimented with combinations. At times, he made four- or five-player substitutions to find a spark.

Early on, Spoonhour yelled "make a simple play" during a ragged stretch.

The Rebels did not ease a nervous crowd, gratuitously announced as 9,847, until the Stars collapsed with 12 1/2 minutes remaining. UNLV trailed, 64-57, when center J.K. Edwards was fouled down low.

Stars forward Anthony White, formerly of Southern California, then barked at an official, drawing a technical foul. New Rebels forward Andy Hannan sank both free throws, and Edwards hit one of his and then put back his next miss.

UNLV carried that momentum to a 69-66 advantage.

Beck gave the Rebels the lead for good when he broke an 80-80 tie with a strong baseline drive from the left side, stopping just right of the basket, underneath it, and flipping in a nifty reverse layup with 5:47 left.

"I'm a long player, and I have the ability to do plays like that," Beck said. "Reverse layins are not difficult for me. Every time you get a big play like that, it can turn you around. Especially at home."

UNLV peeled away at the end when Blassingame forced the issue by pushing two fastbreaks and hitting a 3-point shot, out of a timeout and in the last seconds of the shot clock.

An ally-oop lob to Beck, among other intuitive moves, showed that Spoonhour already has at least two players with chemistry.

"I mean, he knows me and I know him," Blassingame said. "I give him a nod, and he knows what to do. I didn't have any jitters, just went out and played hard. The big thing was, at the end we buckled down on 'D.' "

Senior shooting guard Demetrius Hunter sat out Monday's game with a calf injury, which caused him to miss the Rebels' four previous practice sessions. However, he said he will be able to play Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in an exhibition against the Houston Superstars at the Mack. ...

Power forward Odartey Blankson, a junior transfer from Marquette, had 16 points and 10 rebounds Monday ... Blassingame logged a team-high 33 minutes, with only four turnovers ... Edwards scored 16 points, on 5-of-6 shooting, in 12 minutes ... Spoonhour vowed to get senior forward James Peters, who made all four of his shots in nine minutes, more time Saturday.

Game time is 7:30 p.m. and tickets are $2.

The Lady Rebels will feature eight new players, including three transfers.

UNLV returns one starter, preseason all-conference junior forward Sherry McCracklin, who was the second leading rebounder in the Mountain West Conference last year at 8.6 rpg. She also averaged 11.2 ppg.

The Lady Rebels, who posted a 17-12 record in 2002-03, will play another exhibition game on Friday, against the Latvian Select team at 7:30 p.m.

The Rebels open the regular season on Friday, Nov. 21 against Centenary at 5 p.m. in the Thomas & Mack Center.