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March 29, 2024

LIVE GAME BLOG — Final:

Rebels close out Rams behind Stanback’s career-high 19 points, 80-72

UNLV kicks off extended road trip with a bang in Fort Collins, improves to 15-4 overall, 3-2 in MWC

Updated Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010 | 9:08 p.m.

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Final, UNLV wins 80-72

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Each time Colorado State tried to get up off of the mat in the second half on Wednesday night at Moby Arena, Chace Stanback's mid-range provided all of the muscle UNLV needed.

The sophomore forward scored 15 of his career-high 19 points in the second half as the Rebels avenged one of their uglier losses from last season with a 80-72 victory in Fort Collins on Wednesday night.

UNLV improves to 15-4 overall and 3-2 in Mountain West play, while Colorado State is 11-7 overall and 2-2 in the MWC.

Helping the effort was Tre'Von Willis, who hit seven late free throws as part of his 22-point effort, leading all scorers. Derrick Jasper added six points and eight rebounds, while Oscar Bellfield had eight points to go with his eight assists.

UNLV's most surprising effort of the night came from freshman guard Justin Hawkins, who scored nine of his 10 points in the first half, as he was a key part of a pair of 8-0 runs.

Colorado State was led by freshman guard Dorian Green, who scored 20 points. Junior forward Travis Franklin had 17 points, nine rebounds and five assists, but his night was marred by a 3-of-14 showing at the stripe.

The Rebels are back in action on Saturday at TCU in a 3 p.m. tip-off. UNLV will head straight to Texas on an extended road trip tomorrow morning.

For full postgame coverage, including stats, stories, photos and much more, stay tuned to lasvegassun.com/rebels.

2:44, second half, UNLV leads 69-68

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Chace Stanback hit two more mid-range jumpers on the baseline to answer Colorado State's last surge, now someone just needs to hold the Rams off down the stretch for the Rebels.

Tre'Von Willis is playing aggressive ball with four fouls to his credit, and will head to the line for a one-and-one out of the current T.V. timeout.

Derrick Jasper now has nine rebounds on the night and has been a savior for UNLV on the defensive glass. His last two boards came off of missed free throws by CSU's Travis Franklin. Franklin has been an achilles heel for the Rams tonight. Despite his 15 points so far, he's 3-of-12 from the line.

7:44, second half, CSU leads 62-61

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The funny thing is that UNLV has not played poorly tonight in any way. Colorado State just simply won't go away.

The Rebels have fended the Rams off for much of the second half, and now with just under eight minutes to play, UNLV trails by one on the road, 62-61.

Adam Nigon, who seems to save his best games for when UNLV is in town, has 12 points including a huge 3-pointer a couple of possessions ago. That came right after Dorian Green scored his first two-point bucket of the night, giving him a game-high 17 points.

Just before the last T.V. timeout, Tre'Von Willis was called for a charge, which went down as his fourth foul. He's remaining in the game, and UNLV has nine team fouls. Both teams are already in the bonus.

15:27, second half, UNLV leads 47-44

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — UNLV made quite the statement in opening the second half with a thunderous Derrick Jasper throwdown off of a lob from Oscar Bellfield on a pass which looked so high that it could have easily landed in the stands.

CSU was not fazed, however. Travis Franklin missed an and-one free throw, and on the rebound, the ball was tapped back to Dorian Green, who hit his third 3-pointer of the night, putting CSU up 42-40.

But after a Tre'Von Willis three from the corner, Chace Stanback came back with a pair of 18-foot jumpers, displaying his deadly mjid-range game. CSU won't go away, but the Rebels appear to be braced for the push.

Halftime, UNLV leads 38-33

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Justin Hawkins had key roles in a pair of 8-0 UNLV runs in the first half, the Rebels erased what at one point was a seven-point deficit and now hold a 38-33 halftime edge over Colorado State.

Hawkins, who has been invisible on the offensive end since a break-out game earlier this season against UNR, has nine points on 2-of-3 shooting, including a pair of 3-pointers and a perfect showing at the free throw line.

He also has two rebounds, two assists and no turnovers while playing nine first half minutes.

He mentioned earlier this season how his confidence was a bit shaken, and tonight you can actually see it come back before your eyes.

Tre'Von Willis started slow but has turned it around, as he has seven points, two steals and two rebounds. Oscar Bellfield has eight for the Rebels, including a pair of treys.

Here are some other numbers of note from tonight's first half ...

— UNLV is an efficient 13-of-28 from the floor, while Colorado State has been flustered by UNLV's back-court pressure and is just 10-of-30.

— UNLV is being out-rebounded by a slim margin at 19-18. All 18 of UNLV's boards, however, have come on the defensive end. CSU has only four offensive rebounds.

— Travis Franklin leads CSU with 10 points and five rebounds, while Dorian Green has nine points, including two deep 3-pointers.

— The Rebels have silenced Andy Ogide, who has only two points and one rebound so far. He came in averaging roughly 12 and six, respectively.

— UNLV is a perfect 7-of-7 from the free throw line and 5-of-10 from deep.

3:59, first half, UNLV leads 34-30

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — You can physically see Justin Hawkins' confidence coming back tonight in Fort Collins.

After hitting a key corner 3-pointer earlier, Hawkins just buried another while being fouled by Adam Nigon. He then completed the rare four-point play, and added on two more free throws. A steal and layup from Tre'Von Willis followed that spurt, and UNLV has assumed some control at Moby Arena, leading 34-30 late in the first half.

On the night, UNLV is 12-of-22 from the floor and an impressive 5-of-9 from 3-point range.

7:46, first half, CSU leads 25-23

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — UNLV woke up on offense with yet another lineup change, and this time was able to silence an awakening crowd at Moby Arena.

Brice Massamba laid in a bucket off of a sweet dish from Oscar Bellfield, then Bellfield followed with a 3-pointer atop the key. Capping a quick 8-0 run for the Rebels was Justin Hawkins, who hit a corner three. That could prove huge in getting the freshman some more minutes, as his confidence on the offensive end has been in question since the tail end of the non-conference season.

Dorian Green came back with a deep three for CSU, and currently, the Rams are up by two. UNLV is 9-of-19 from the floor, and has yet to grab an offensive rebound. However, the Rebels have held the Rams to just one board on their offensive end.

10:55, first half, CSU leads 18-13

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — Last year, this place was a tomb it was so empty when UNLV came to town. Tonight, both student sections are practically full, and Colorado State withstood an early UNLV push and is playing with tons of confidence early on, leading UNLV 18-13.

Lon Kruger inserted four substitutes with the game tied, 9-9, and despite a 15-foot baseline jumper from Steve 'Chop' Jones and a bucket from Anthony Marshall, Colorado State has swarmed.

CSU is attacking hard on the other end, and UNLV has fallen out of rhythm on the offensive end.

Part of UNLV's problem with the subs in is, again, hesitation to go all-or-nothing towards the bucket. Among the starting five, Chace Stanback, Matt Shaw and Derrick Jasper all showed good aggression early on. But no one has really in their place.

Meanwhile, CSU is scoring the hard way. Reserve guard Travis Busch backed Anthony Marshall down and hit a turn-around floater, while Dorian Green hit three free throws after drawing a foul on the perimeter.

Kruger is now shuffling some starters back into the game, but the Rebels can't afford to fall too far behind here on the road. This is a much tougher environment at Moby Arena than it was a year ago.

Pregame

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — The doors didn't open here tonight at Moby Arena until 7 p.m. local time. And when they did, Colorado State faithful didn't necessarily swarm the stands.

Last season, before UNLV fell to Colorado State on this same floor, 71-69, the Rebels were lax through warm-ups, setting off a switch within the Rams' heads. They took it personally, felt as if their guests were big-timing them. In turn, they pounced.

None of that is going on tonight, as UNLV comes in not only with a sharper mindset, but also less margin for error.

After Saturday's home loss to Utah, the Rebels cannot afford to give up much more ground in the loss column in the Mountain West, even though everyone else seems to not want to protect their home floor too well (i.e. Utah falling to San Diego State last night).

There's not too much to add, as UNLV looks ready to go. About 20 minutes from tip-off, we might as well get to tonight's three keys to Rebel victory.

1) UNLV needs to swelter Colorado State freshman guard Dorian Green. He's going to see plenty of floor time, as he's second in the league in minutes played per game. The depth behind him in the back-court is thin. If UNLV asserts itself as per usual on the defensive end, winning that battle shouldn't be too much of a problem.

2) UNLV needs to win this one convincingly, and for that to happen, a third consistent offensive option needs to emerge. And it needs to be Derrick Jasper. He's looked incredible scoring the ball in practice of late. It has to translate to the game floor at some point, right?

3) The Rebels' big men cannot allow Andy Ogide to go nuts. CSU has a bunch of size inside, but the Mississippi transfer is the Rams' best chance at having someone carry the team on their back. UNLV should have no problem scoring inside against CSU's size, but the Rebels have to defend it efficiently.

As for tonight's prediction and 'Pick to Click', I'm going with UNLV, 77-62, and Oscar Bellfield. He's been quiet for a few games now, and those streaks don't typically last very long with him.

Be back after tip-off.

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