Blog: UNLV keeps Boise State at an arm’s length and pulls away for a 75-58 victory

By Taylor Bern

Published Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012 | 6 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012 | 9:19 p.m.

Chace Stanback scored 19 points and Anthony Marshall had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds as No. 21 UNLV ran past Boise State 75-58. The Rebels (23-6, 7-4) are now one game behind New Mexico in the conference standings with three games to play.

UNLV thoroughly outplayed Boise State for certain stretches of the game, but by and large it was a sloppy game that the Rebels were able to control with those periods of dominance. Brice Massamba and Justin Hawkins combined for 27 points while Mike Moser had six points and nine rebounds.

The Rebels shot 49 percent from the field and 47.6 behind the three-point line. Both teams shot exactly 50 percent at the free-throw line, just one example of the ugly play that dominated the night.

UNLV stays home for an afternoon game against Air Force on Saturday.

Check lasvegassun.com later tonight for a full report on tonight's game.

Rebels have the game in hand with a 66-45 lead against Boise State

Chace Stanback has 19 points and he's one of three Rebels who have at least seven rebounds as UNLV has opened up a 66-45 lead against Boise State with 7:47 remaining. Brice Massamba and Justin Hawkins have 12 points each.

The game is clearly in hand, and UNLV has also checked off its halftime goals: keep Boise off the offensive glass (the Broncos only have one in the second half) and limit turnovers (the Rebels have just three after the break). And as for getting Mike Moser more involved, he's only taken six shots, but he's been fairly efficient — six points and seven rebounds — and he definitely got involved with celebrations. After Quintrell Thomas put home a putback slam — a Moser speciality, by the way — Moser got into Thomas' face yelling more than he has for most of his own dunks this year.

And Moser's a man who likes to yell.

Chace Stanback has 17 points as UNLV leads 49-37 early in the second half

Chace Stanback is on fire again the second half, hitting two 3-pointers in the first four minutes as UNLV takes a 49-37 with 15:53 remaining. UNLV hasn't gotten much else going, though, including its defense.

Stanback is leading all scorers with 17 points. Besides his shooting, the quality of play hasn't picked up much in the opening minutes of the second half. At this rate we might see a combined 40 turnovers tonight, but as long as it's still coming from both teams then UNLV ought to be able to keep Boise at a distance.

UNLV leads Boise State 41-29 at halftime behind Stanback's 11 points

UNLV and Boise State ended the first half with some truly ugly basketball — turnovers and missed free throws being the main culprits — but the Rebels still maintained their double-digit lead and go into halftime ahead 41-29. Chace Stanback leads all scorers with 11 points while Brice Massamba has eight points on 4-of-5 shooting.

The teams had a combined eight turnovers with just less than eight minutes remaining, and they went into the break with 17.

Besides holding onto the ball, the biggest thing the Rebels need to work on in the second half is keeping Boise State off the offensive glass. The Broncos already have eight offensive rebounds and are outrebounding the Rebels overall 19-16. That was a huge problem in last week's overtime loss at TCU, and UNLV definitely doesn't want to see anything even close to that tonight.

Mike Moser is only 1-for-3 from the floor. The Rebels probably won't need him to take a lot of shots to pull this one out, but considering his disappearing act in the second half at New Mexico, it'd be nice to see him be a little more proactive.

Chace Stanback has 11 points as UNLV leads Boise State 27-18

Chace Stanback has found his rhythm against Boise State, hitting two 3-pointers and leading UNLV with 11 points as the Rebels lead the Broncos 27-18 with 7:59 left in the first half. Justin Hawkins and Brice Massamba each have six points.

The Rebels' perimeter defense is still wreaking havoc on the Broncos' guards, who have having trouble just entering the ball into the post or finding open shots. Boise State has already attempted 10 3-pointers (4-for-10) and it seems that the Broncos think they're only chance to hang in this game is to hit 3s. Can't say I disagree.

UNLV's defense is very aggressive in the opening minutes against Boise State

UNLV's defense is playing with a fire that I haven't seen in a couple of weeks. The Rebels have already forced one shot-clock violation and nearly added a second as they go into the first media break tied with Boise State at 6-6.

Anthony Marshall and Mike Moser, especially, have been getting into the Broncos along the perimeter. Boise State is still finding holes, though, with two 3-pointers early.

Brice Massamba has been the aggressor for UNLV's offense and has four points. Moser provided the other points with a putback slam off of Marshall's missed transition layup.

With a victory against Boise State, UNLV would pull within a game of New Mexico

Three days after throttling UNLV 65-45, No. 18 New Mexico went to Colorado State and lost by eight. It’s just the latest example of life on the road in the Mountain West, and it maintains a little intrigue in a conference race that is still the Lobos’ to lose.

After Saturday’s game, it looked like New Mexico would go no worse than 3-1 down the stretch. The Rams were that one, but still, losing Tuesday gives No. 21 UNLV (and No. 24 San Diego State) a chance tonight to pull back within one game and keep some pressure on the Lobos.

The Rebels (22-6, 6-4) shouldn’t have much trouble holding up their end of the bargain as they host Boise State (13-12, 3-7) at 7:15 p.m. on CBS College Sports.

The Broncos are on a three-game winning streak, but that was preceded by an eight-game losing streak, including a 77-72 overtime loss to UNLV on Jan. 25. Their recent victories include an 11-point win at Air Force and one-point home squeakers against Colorado State and TCU.

The Rams’ loss to the Broncos had seemingly ended Colorado State’s NCAA Tournament chances, but the victory against New Mexico keeps hope alive with a shot at UNLV looming on Feb. 29.

The Rebels could use the same type of perseverance. They finish the regular season with a very favorable schedule: three home games against teams in the bottom four and that trip to Fort Collins. Then they host the Mountain West tournament, getting up to three more home games to improve their NCAA Tournament seeding.

All of that, though, has to start with a victory tonight. And preferably, it will come with major contributions from senior small forward Chace Stanback and sophomore forward Mike Moser.

Stanback has been struggling at both ends of the floor and UNLV is not the same team when he’s not hitting shots. Similarly, Moser hit two 3-pointers in the opening minutes against New Mexico, then hit just one shot the rest of the way. A bounce back tonight would prove that to be an anomaly, and a big game from Stanback would give fans some hope that he can be a major factor the rest of the way.

Bern’s prediction: This will not be close. The Rebels destroy bad teams at home, and the Broncos are a bad team. Add in the extra motivation because of New Mexico’s loss Tuesday and this will be over by halftime. UNLV 82, Boise State 60.

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.