No. 23 UNLV Pressures Upstate In 88-58 Win
12/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2009
Las Vegas, Nev. - Despite outshooting the No. 23 UNLV Runnin' Rebels from the floor, USC Upstate could not overcome 20 turnovers and 17 UNLV offensive rebounds as the Runnin' Rebels took an 88-58 victory Saturday night in the Thomas & Mack Center.
Upstate fell to 1-9 on the year and will return to the court Dec. 23 at Arizona State in the final non-conference game of the season. UNLV improved to 10-1 on the year with the win.
Upstate shot a shade under 49 percent from the field, while UNLV was just under 44 percent. However, Upstate committed 20 turnovers and allowed 17 UNLV offensive boards. Both led to the Runnin' Rebels taking 28 more shots than the Spartans. UNLV scored 28 points off of Upstate's turnovers and collected 14 second chance points.
"We had 10 turnovers in the first half, but seven of those happened in our half court offense," said Upstate head coach Eddie Payne. "We have to do better of taking care of the ball so we can run our offense. UNLV is the best team that we have played. This is a Sweet 16 caliber team. They shot the ball well. In spite of all everything, our team made progress tonight."
UNLV opened the game with seven straight points, forcing two Upstate turnovers which led to four points in the run. Carter Cook sank a three-pointer to break the run, but the Runnin' Rebels answered with seven straight to open a 14-3 lead before Cook sank another three to cut the lead to 14-6 heading into the first media timeout.
UNLV continued to use its pressure defense to disrupt the Upstate offense. The Runnin' Rebels committed seven turnovers that led to 14 UNLV points in the first eight minutes of the game to open a 29-7 lead.
Upstate scored five straight before UNLV pushed the lead to 20 points, 32-12, en route to a 50-31 halftime lead.
UNLV was simply on fire in the first half. The Runnin' Rebels held a field goal percentage in the 60 percent range for most of the half before settling for 50 percent at the half. They shot 7-of-16 from behind the three-point arc. Kendall Wallace led the way offensively for UNLV, finishing the half with 14 points.
Upstate actually shot better than UNLV in the half, hitting 12-of-23 from the field at 52 percent. However, the Spartans committed 10 turnovers that led to 19 points off turnovers and allowed eight second chance points as UNLV opened the 19-point lead at the half. Nick Schneiders led the way with 10 points in the half.
UNLV outscored Upstate 12-3 to open the second half to take a 62-34 lead with 15:45 to play. The Runnin' Rebels led by as many as 32 points while coasting to the victory in front on a crowd of 11,300.
Nick Schneiders had a standout game for Upstate. He finished with a game-high 22 points to go with seven rebounds and five blocked shots. The 22 points was one off his career high of 23 set earlier this season against UNC Greensboro. Ryan LeGates tied his career high with nine points.
"You look at Nick's game tonight, I was real proud of him," said Payne. "He did a really good job. I hate to think about how tough it will be to play without him next year."
Four Runnin' Rebels finished in double figures on the night. Oscar Bellfield and Kendall Wallace each finished with 16 points to lead UNLV. Wallace established a new career high. Derrick Jasper finished with 11 points, while Chace Stanback tallied 10.
