Rebels hope UNR wakeup call eases alarm about slow starts

Steve Guiremand

Wednesday, Dec. 8, 2004 | 9:37 a.m.

THE GAME: UNLV at Pepperdine.

WHEN: Tonight, 7.

WHERE: Firestone Fieldhouse, Malibu.

TV: None.

RADIO: 920-AM.

STORY LINE: Rodeo road trip continues for Rebels, this time against another potentially dangerous foe -- remember Saint Mary's -- from the West Coast Conference.

MALIBU, Calif. -- UNLV basketball coach Lon Kruger is hoping to see a whole lot more pep in his team's start tonight here against Pepperdine.

Kruger has spent the past three days stressing the importance of starting fast out of the blocks after the Rebels (2-2) immediately fell behind 11-0 in an 84-78 loss at UNR on Saturday night.

"We want to get off to a better start," Kruger said. "We got off to such a slow start at Reno and played as poor as we have all year. Then in the second half we played as well as we have all year."

The message seems to have sunk in with some of his players.

"We can't let the other guys attack," point guard Jerel Blassingame said. "We have to attack them first. That's what we've been focusing on these last couple of practices."

Senior forward Odartey Blankson added: "We shouldn't need a wakeup call like that to get us going and ready to play. From now on we're going to come out and try and be a lot more aggressive. We have to play hard from the jump ball until the end of the game. We can't take plays off or try and take the easy way out."

Especially tonight against a Pepperdine squad that is arguably the most talented team UNLV has played so far this season.

Paul Westphal's Waves (6-1) have won six in a row, including a 75-61 upset of 17th-ranked Wisconsin two weeks ago. In senior forwards Glen McGowan (17.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg) and Yakhouba Diawara (14.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg), and junior guard Alex Acker (15.6 ppg, 7.9 rpg), the Waves have three players who are talented enough to be playing professionally somewhere after their college days are over.

The Waves are exceptional at shooting the 3-pointer, connecting on 40 percent (52 of 130) of their attempts. Pepperdine also averages 14 offensive rebounds per game.

"Pepperdine is very skilled, very talented and they can really score," Kruger said. "They go to the offensive boards very hard. They run the floor very hard. Their big guys are active and mobile and can shoot the 3."

So the Rebels can ill afford another slow start tonight or they run the risk of getting run right out of the gym.

"They're a good team," Blankson said. "They beat Wisconsin pretty bad, which says a lot. We've got to come out ready to play this time and get the win."