UNLV Notes: Chace Stanback nears top 20 on career scoring list

By Taylor Bern

Saturday, Feb. 25, 2012 | 7:45 p.m.

Chace Stanback moved three notches up the UNLV career scoring list Saturday and is closing in on the top 20.

Stanback led the Rebels with 21 points in a 68-58 victory against Air Force. He entered the game at No. 26 on the scoring list with 1,166 points.

By the end of the game he had moved to No. 23, passing Richie Adams (1,168 points), Gerald Paddio (1,171) and Reggie Theus (1,177).

Stanback now needs just four points to surpass Booker Washington (1,190). In order to pass Jackie Robinson (not that one) for No. 20, Stanback has to score 72 points, which is very possible if UNLV can make it to the championship game of the Mountain West tournament.

Former teammate Tre’Von Willis is at No. 16 with 1,316 points.

Rebels rotation

UNLV coach Dave Rice said not to read much into the distribution of minutes Saturday.

The Rebels bench, excluding junior guard Justin Hawkins, who’s basically the sixth starter, attempted only one shot. Quintrell Thomas, Reggie Smith and Carlos Lopez each played just two minutes, while Kendall Wallace was the “workhorse” with eight minutes.

Because of the unique challenges presented by the Falcons’ back-door cuts and grind-it-out offense, Rice said he wanted to play guys who have guarded against it for the past couple of years.

Still, sophomore forward Mike Moser, who had only played the Falcons earlier this year, ended up leading the team with 37 minutes.

The true test will be UNLV’s final road game, this Wednesday at Colorado State. The rotation that Rice uses in that game will probably be a good indication of what to expect come tournament time.

In other rotation news, the Rebels often played with a lineup that allowed them to rotate at all five positions Saturday.

Rice likes to switch basically the whole game at the 1-4 spots with the center often staying on his man. But in the past few days, he said they worked on rotating off of every position. He was comfortable with the matchups that it would create against the Falcons, and now that they’ve done that with success, it’s something the Rebels have in their back pocket, should they need it.

Career day

Add Air Force junior Kyle Green to the list of obscure guards who have had their best game of the season against UNLV.

Green came into the season averaging less than two points per game and having hit 4-for-22 on career 3-point attempts. At halftime, he was 4-for-4.

Green finished with a career-high 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting, including 5-for-7 behind the 3-point line.

Earlier this season, Wichita State’s Joe Ragland (31 points) and Wisconsin’s Ben Brust (25 points) carved up UNLV’s defense. But with the Rebels playing at home, Air Force needed a lot more than just Green.

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