Contributions from unlikely sources help fuel win

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Friday, March 12, 2010 | 2:05 a.m.

Brice Massamba taking a charge. Justin Hawkins diving for a loose ball. Steve Jones aggravating the opposition with an in-your-face style of defense.

Sure, first-team all-league selection Tre’Von Willis usually carries the UNLV basketball team with his consistently solid performances. And, on most nights, sophomore wing Chace Stanback is a viable second option.

But for the Rebels to reach their full potential, it’s going to take more than the one-two punch of Willis and Stanback.

It’s going to take a team effort like Thursday night.

Everyone who played for the Rebels seemingly impacted the game in a 73-61 victory against Utah in the Mountain West Conference quarterfinals. As the lead grew from one-point to double digits in the second half, the list of standout plays continued to grow.

And they came from several different contributors.

It was freshman Anthony Marshall taking the ball strong to the basket in producing the best game of his young career with 13 points and 12 rebounds. It was sophomore Oscar Bellfield nailing a big 3-pointer in the second half.

“We played 11 guys all year long, short of the time when they’ve been injured,” UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. “They’ve all stepped up. They’ve all contributed, worked hard in practice and they take pride in doing the little things well.

“I think the intangibles are a big part of our team being successful and executing things on both ends of the floor.”

The effort is a continuation of how UNLV finished the regular season on a four-game winning streak. While those four victories came against the league’s weaker teams, Thursday’s win was against an opponent UNLV had lost to twice previously this season.

It was sign the Rebels are peaking at the right time and headed for more memorable victories in the final weeks of the season. The Rebels are playing with a confidence that wasn’t present during parts of the regular season, especially during a three-game losing skid in early February.

That confidence was the key when Utah erased a 13-point first-half deficit to only trail by one early in the second half. Instead of panicking — remember, Utah already had two wins against UNLV this year — the Rebels scored the next 10 points and led by double digits the remainder of the game.

Considering the past struggles against Utah, the second-half onslaught speaks volumes about the team’s growth.

“I thought in the second half especially the guys made a lot of plays for each other, made the extra pass and finished some opportunities, ” Kruger said.

Marshall epitomizes the growth.

The local product from Mojave High in North Las Vegas was hesitant offensively at times this year in adjusting to the college game. But his ultra-athleticism was always on the verge of breaking out.

He picked the right time to shine.

“He definitely was one of the guys that you could look in his eyes and tell he just wanted it,” Willis said.

The same could be said for the entire team. After all, it was a team effort that prevailed against Utah and that will be key against BYU in the tournament semifinals.

That means taking charges from Massamba, scrambling for loose balls by Hawkins and suffocating defensive pressure by Jones.