Hunter, Rebels looking at tough challenge

Steve Guiremand

Monday, Feb. 9, 2004 | 9:54 a.m.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Demetrius Hunter knows he has his work cut out for him tonight when UNLV kicks off the second half of Mountain West Conference play against Utah at the Huntsmen Center.

A 6-foot-2 senior from Cheyenne High, Hunter will once again draw the defensive assignment of trying to guard Ute sharpshooter Nick Jacobson, who arguably has been the conference's MVP for the first seven games. And that means another long night of fighting through screens and hoping your teammates can help out once in a while in what figures to be another bruising and physical conference matchup.

But Hunter, who had arguably his worst game of the season against Utah in a conference opening 72-67 loss to Jacobson and company on Jan. 12 at the Thomas & Mack Center, says he's up for the rematch.

"Hell, yes," Hunter said with a smile after the team's 90-minute workout on Sunday afternoon outside the snowy Huntsmen Center. "He gave me 25 the first time. He better not get 25 points on me (tonight)."

Jacobson, who stands 6-foot-4, actually finished with 27 points in the first game, including four key free throws in the final 1:48 after UNLV had overcome a 10-point second half deficit to tie the game, 65-65. He was 8-of-18 from the field, including 3-of-7 from 3-point range.

Hunter, meanwhile, went scoreless in 29 minutes of action and attempted just one field goal.

If, as the old saying goes, misery loves company, Hunter has a lot of it.

Jacobson scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half to help rally Utah (17-5, 5-2) from a 15-point deficit to pull out an emotional 64-56 victory against BYU nine days ago in the Utes' first game since the surprise resignation of head coach Rick Majerus. He followed that up by hitting four jumpers in a little more than two minutes to help ignite a 26-9 second-half run as Utah rallied to defeat San Diego State, 65-61, here on Saturday.

"Jacobson," Aztecs coach Steve Fisher said when asked what was the key to the game. "That's a pretty good key right there. He's good -- he did the same thing to BYU."

"That's just Nick," interim Utah head coach Kerry Rupp said matter-of-factly. "He's been doing that all year long for us. Every time he touches the ball he can knock down a shot."

Jacobson is shooting 45.7 percent from 3-point range and averaging 18.4 points per game in MWC play.

"We just hope we can make him earn his shots," UNLV coach Charlie Spoonhour said. "He's going to make shots. He's too good a player. He knows how to play and they understand his value to the team. That makes it hard. One man doesn't stop him."

Spoonhour, in fact, seemed to enjoy some success with 6-foot-7 small forward Romel Beck defending Jacobson in the second half of the first meeting but will start with Hunter guarding him again tonight. Whoever has the difficult task must get help from teammates on switches.

"They set him a lot of screens," Hunter said. "It's like (BYU center Rafael) Araujo. It's going to take everybody to help out on him because they set so many screens. He's going to hit some shots because he's such a good player. (Tonight) I have to make it much tougher for him than the last time because he got so many open looks in that game. I've got to defend him better."

An upset of the Utes tonight would put UNLV (12-7, 3-4) back at .500 in MWC action with four of its final six conference games at the Thomas & Mack. Despite their slow start, the Rebels remarkably still find themselves in a four-way tie for third place with conference preseason favorite BYU, defending MWC tournament winner Colorado State, New Mexico and San Diego State.

That fact hasn't gone unnnoticed by veteran players like Hunter, who remember how the Rebels bounced back from a 1-4 MWC start a year ago to finish 8-6 and tied for third place.

"We've dropped a couple of games I felt like we should have won," Hunter said. "But we can't do anything but go on from here. We can't hold our heads down for losing. It's done. We've got a second half of the season starting now. Hopefully we can put together a run and make it right.

"We did it last year. We can do it again."

Spoonhour seemed to think his team's inexperience -- three of the team's five starters hadn't played in the 22,700-seat Marriot Center before and freshmen guards John Winston and Michael Umeh both struggled -- may have contributed to his team's sloppy start. "We got into too big a hurry," he said. "We didn't have enough poise. We kept going faster. We were at warp speed a couple of times, trying to throw passes that, if they get there and you catch it, are wonderful. But you can't take chances on the road." ...

Spoonhour on his team's 3-4 first half start in MWC play: "The whole thing is it is what it is. I think we know we're close to being a good ballclub. We're close but we're not there yet. Hopefully we learned from a game like (the BYU loss)."