UNLV Runnin’ Rebels

Rebels fall to Kansas

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:37:34 -0700

By Matt Maxson
The Rebel Yell

Photos by Devin Loretz

OMAHA, Neb. -- The Rebels rebuilding season is over.

After three months of over achieving, UNLV met an obstacle that unselfish play couldn’t overcome, the University of Kansas Jayhawks.

The Rebels lost to the Jayhawks 75-56 in a game that was dictated more by the whistle than the coaches and the players. Over 40 fouls were called against both teams in the entire game.

The Rebels short bench was their undoing - at 6:49 both René Rougeau and Joe Darger fouled out.

7:40 LEFT IN THE SECOND HALF
Rebel big men Joe Darger and Matt Shaw have found themselves in terrible foul trouble. Darger fouled out with 9:33 remaining and Shaw has already recorded his fourth foul.

The Rebels trail the Jayhawks 60-46 pending the free throw by Wink Adams. The Rebels are having a terrible day from the field shooting only 28.9 percent next to the Jayhawks 55 percent.

The Rebels are in the double bonus as the Jayhawks already have 10 team fouls while Kansas is in the bonus with UNLV recording seven team fouls.

14:28 LEFT IN THE SECOND HALF
The Rebels and Jayhawks are fighting to establish any sort of offensive game plan. UNLV is continuing to shoot from beyond the arc while Kansas is consistently forcing the ball inside. Kansas is leading UNLV 44-35.

Five fouls have already been recorded by UNLV and Kansas combined in the first five minutes of the first half. Wink Adams will approach the free throw line as the intermission ends.

HALFTIME
The Rebels trail the Jayhawks 34-29 at the intermission. In the first half of play 20 fouls were recorded by UNLV and Kansas combined.

Though the score is close, the Rebels trail the Jayhawks dramatically in field goal percentage. UNLV shot 8-for-27 from the field while Kansas shot 14-for-25 including 16 points in the paint.

No player has scored in double digits for either team.

3:48 LEFT IN THE FIRST HALF
After Matt Shaw made both free throw attempts, the Jayhawks have gone on a 7-0 run to lead the Rebels 26-21. UNLV has committed an additional two fouls to put Kansas into the bonus.

7:48 LEFT IN THE FIRST HALF
The Rebels have forced Kansas into a tie as Matt Shaw approaches the free throw line. After the Rebels committed six straight fouls, the Jayhawks committed seven straight to put UNLV into the bonus.

Curtis Terry leads the Rebels with seven points followed by Wink Adams who has scored all of his six points in sequence.

15:13 LEFT IN THE FIRST HALF
The Rebels are in dire foul trouble recording six team fouls in less than five minutes. René Rougeau, Curtis Terry, Corey Bailey and Matt Shaw each have fouls recorded against them.

After making the initial score of the game, the Rebels trail the Jayhawks 6-3 as Kansas continues to penetrate the Rebels defense.

PREGAME
After Wisconsin’s defeat of Kansas State 72-55, fans are preparing for the Rebels to tip-off. The official game time is set for 4:10 PST after a few delays on the court after the first game.

Reliving rivalry: Hoffman ignites Rebels

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:56:02 -0700

By Matt Maxson
The Rebel Yell

Photos by Devin Loretz

OMAHA, Neb. -- It’s in his blood to hate the University of Kansas.

UNLV guard Scott Hoffman lived only three hours away, in the town of Hays, Kan., the son of two Kansas State University graduates – his father a member of the Kansas State basketball team.

Hoffman has nothing but contempt for KU.

“I’ve hated KU for a long time,” Hoffman said. “This is something I’ve been dreaming about since I was little.”

Hoffman, who made his first appearance in the NCAA Tournament Thursday against Kent State, has spent a lot of time energizing his teammates for Saturday’s match-up against the Jayhawks.

“He’s loving it,” Hoffman’s roommate, UNLV forward Curtis Terry said. “[Hoffman] growing up in Kansas and being a K-State fan and Wildcat his whole life, he’s getting us ready.”

The Rebels will need all the preparation they can get.

KU (32-3, No. 1 seed) is the No. 4 team in the nation (AP & Coaches Poll) and possesses the size that has troubled UNLV throughout the year. Four members of the Jayhawks squad were named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association District VI team – only one, guard Wink Adams, was selected for UNLV from District VIII.

The Jayhawks were also able to have eight players see 10 minutes or more in Thursday’s game against Portland State, an obstacle that the 10-man roster for UNLV will have to overcome. “Kansas has so many different weapons,” UNLV guard René Rougeau said.

He continued by praising UNLV’s bench and saying that it’ll take a team effort to overcome KU. “Coach [Kruger] said everybody is going to be ready to play. I feel good about those guys coming into the game being real productive.” The Rebels placed all 10 players into Thursday’s game against Kent State.

“It was fun,” Hoffman said about his play in the game against KSU. “I didn’t get in much but it was fun playing in an NCAA tournament game.” Though Hoffman may not see any action against the Jayhawks, he feels that his team has the ability to compete.

“They’re arguably the best team in the country, but we’ll be ready.”

Rebel fans ready in return to tournament

Fri, 21 Mar 2008 11:31:20 -0700

By April Corbin
The Rebel Yell

Photos by Devin Loretz

OMAHA, Neb. -- With roughly 13 minutes left of the Kansas-Portland game, a chant fillied the Qwest Center Omaha: “Re-bels, Re-bels, Re-bels.”

The chant appeared to be a warning for the Jayhawks that the Runnin’ Rebels, who hadn’t even played their game against Kent State, want to be in the NCAA Tournament for the long haul, even in Nebraska.

For Henderson resident Rueben Murillo, the prospect of matching up UNLV and Kansas was especially personal. Murillo received his undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Kansas and his graduate degree in education from UNLV.

Murillo said while he was initially excited that Kansas and UNLV were both playing in Omaha, his excitement quickly diminished.

“I said: ‘Oh wait. They’re going to play UNLV.’”

Dawning a red Rebels T-shirt and a blue KU jacket, Murillo said that he would be excited for both squads and would root for “the best team.”

In this tournament, UNLV hopes to re-establish the school’s basketball program to the dominance it enjoyed during its National Championship run in 1989-90 – a tournament run for Kansas would mark their first National Championship in 20 years. For Murillo, these facts make it exciting for a fan of both teams.

However, within the wall of Rebel red amongst a sea speckled with KU-blue, most fans found supporting UNLV 100 percent was a no-brainer.

Self-proclaimed die-hard fan and UNLV alumnus Bradley Mayer said he’d paid $800 last season to book a last minute plane ticket to witness the game against Wisconsin in Chicago and had been relieved when booking a flight to Omaha for this season’s tournament had proven to be hassle free.

Despite Kent State being favored to win the game, Mayer said he never doubted the Rebels.

“[Lon] Kruger’s a great coach with experience here,” he said. “I knew we had the coaching edge.”

Mayer admitted that Saturday’s game against Kansas will be tough for the Rebels.

“It’s a tall order,” he said. “But you have no idea what happens when that ball goes in the air.”

Michael Yohay, another UNLV fan who traveled for the game, agreed.

“That’s the beauty of March,” he said. “You never know.”

Another traveling fan, Jerry Keating, expressed more confidence in UNLV’s abilities.

“I’ll be leaving [Omaha] Sunday… after we beat Kansas.”

Keating added that he believes UNLV’s performance will “surprise a lot of people.”

Mayer referenced Kansas’ history of being defeated early within the tournament. In 2005, the Jayhawks were beaten by No. 14 seeded Bucknell. The year before, No. 13 seeded Bradley defeated Kansas in the first round.

Despite uncertain outcomes regarding this Saturday’s game, Rebel fans could agree on one thing: the turnout made by UNLV’s supporters was astounding.

“I’m impressed,” UNLV alumnus Kristian Madsen said of the turnout. “It’s getting better every year.”

During the UNLV-Kent State match-up, Rebel chants and cheers dominated, easily blocking out those by the spread out fans of the Golden Flashes.

Surrounded by fellow fans wearing shirts bearing UNLV’s logo, Keating agreed.

“We’re getting back to the Rebel days of old, when more and more people traveled with the team,” he said.

UNLV defense devastates Kent State

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 16:09:57 -0700

By Matt Maxson
The Rebel Yell

Photos by Devin Loretz

OMAHA, Neb. – If the basketball hoop on Kent State’s side measured only six inches across in the first half, it wouldn’t have surprised the Golden Flashes. The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels (27-7, No. 8 seed) limited the Flashes (28-7, No. 9 seed) to 10 points in the first half on their way to a 71-58 victory at the Qwest Center Omaha in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship.

The Rebels dominated through the entirety of the first half limiting KSU to 5-of-24 shooting from the field and 0-for-7 from 3-point territory. “We couldn’t seem to buy a basket,” KSU forward Mike Scott exclaimed. “We were two feet from the rim and missing, just point blank shots.”

Scott was held without a field goal in the first half alongside teammates Haminn Quaintance, Jordan Mincy and Rodriquez Sherman.

“The first half of basketball was just so unlike how we played all year,” KSU head coach Jim Christian said. “We just came out, played with no confidence, just made silly mistake after silly mistake.”

To go along with the Flashes first half shooting woes, KSU committed 17 first half turnovers, nine by way of steals caused by six different UNLV players.

“We just played how we usually play and the turnovers came with it,” said UNLV forward Matt Shaw. “We had a few turnovers ourselves, but we forced a lot of them and that definitely impacted the game.”

The Flashes were able to rebound in the second half scoring 10 points in less than four minutes, but still trailed UNLV by 25 points (45-20). UNLV forward Joe Darger cushioned the Rebels’ lead by knocking in back-to-back 3-pointers – Darger finished the day 4-for-8 from 3-point range and 7-for-11 shooting and led the Rebels in scoring with 18 points.

It was a position for Darger, a natural small forward turned center, felt more natural with. “I like to play outside a little more,” Darger conceded. “Whatever I got to do to help the team win is what I’m there for.”

KSU managed to cut the lead down to 15 when Flashes forward Mike Scott knocked in a pair of 3-pointers, one with a free throw bonus for seven points in 39 seconds.

UNLV defeat Kent State in NCAA opener

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:05:18 -0700

By Matt Maxson
The Rebel Yell

Photos by Devin Loretz

OMAHA, Neb. — The Runnin’ Rebels (26-7, No. 8 seed) are set to take on the Kent State Golden Flashes (28-6, No. 9 seed) in the first round of their NCAA Tournament scheduled to take place 30 minutes following the conclusion of the Kansas-Portland State contest.

After a practice session that took place at 9 a.m. for UNLV, the Rebels have been sitting patiently in the locker room receiving instruction from head coach Lon Kruger. UNLV fans have already arrived at the Qwest Center Omaha to support the team, something that was absent from yesterday’s practice.

ESPN’s Tim Keown called the match-up between UNLV and Kent State the best game of the first round.

10 minutes to game time: After I was thought to be Rebels forward Joe Darger by UNLV athletic director Mike Hamrick, both teams have taken the court for the shoot-around.

The stands quickly dispersed of all Kansas fans and are now half empty with a small sea of red standing across the court from me - there is a much smaller Kent State contingency standing to my right, away from the CBS camera’s angle.

The teams are now leaving the court to prepare for the pre-game announcements.

Seconds until tip-off: UNLV fans outnumber Kent State fans by approximately three-to-one. As the pre-game activities continue, Larry Johnson can be found in the stands behind the UNLV bench.

UPDATE 1 - 15:51 LEFT IN THE FIRST HALF:
The Rebels have jumped out to a 9-2 lead with solid play from the entire team after Kent State made the first basket of the half.

René Rougeau has helped the Rebels force five turnovers in the opening four minutes and Wink Adams has knocked in five points for UNLV. The Rebel fans are on their feet while the Kent State fans have been relegated to their seats.

UPDATE 2 - 11:00 LEFT IN THE FIRST HALF:
The Rebels pressure has forced eight turnovers including six steals while going on a 9-0 run to give the Rebels a 16-6 lead over Kent State.

Kent State guard Al Fisher has scored no points in the contest so far while the Golden Flashes have shot 3-for-13 as a team.

UPDATE 3 - 7:53 LEFT IN THE FIRST HALF:
The Golden Flashes’ last field goal came with 11:30 remaining, wince then, the Rebels have added another five points to lead 18-6.

Kent States’ shooting woe’s continue as the team is a combined 3-for-15 from behind the arc. Al Fisher and Mike Scott are 0-for-3 shooting. Haminn Quaintance has missed a dunk for the Flashes while Scott missed the putback.

UPDATE 4 - 4:42 LEFT IN THE FIRST HALF:
The Rebels section has come alive with Wink Adams’ six straight points and a 3-point shot in the corner by Joe Darger. Chris Singletary has six of Kent State’s eight points while Al Fisher is 0-for-6 shooting.

The Flashes have 14 turnovers with four players recording three turnovers - nine of those turnovers came by way of steals.

The Rebels went on a 14 point run before Singletary scored for Kent State, the first in nearly eight minutes.

HALFTIME UPDATE 1
The Rebels lead Kent State 31-10 going into halftime - the Flashes score ties the lowest in a half of an NCAA game.

Wink Adams leads the Rebels with 11 points and is shooting 4-for-6 from the field while the Rebels are shooting a combined 13-for-33. Kent State has been limited from the field shooting a measly 5-for-24 with Mike Singletary leading the Flashes shooting 3-for-3.

Kent State’s Al Fisher has been limited to 1-for-8 from the field while Haminn Quaintance has not made a single point shooting 0-for-5.

The Rebels have had two long runs that have helped build a comfortable cushion - a nine point run to start off the half, and a 14-point run that lasted until the 3:50 mark.

UPDATE 1 - 15:53 LEFT IN SECOND HALF
The Golden Flashes have matched their score of the first half in the first four minutes of the second half improving to 3-for-6 shooting in the second period of play.

Joe Darger has scored eight points in the second half now leading the Rebels in scoring with 13 points.

The fans not clad in Rebel red have gotten behind the Kent State squad with resounding cheers during their early scoring in the second half.

UPDATE 2 - 11:43 LEFT IN SECOND HALF
Kent State has battled back shooting 7-for-15 from the field but still trails the Rebels 51-30. René Rougeau has been a defensive monster with eight rebounds, four blocks and three steals while contributing offensively with 10 points.

Everyone in the stands is sitting except for those wearing Rebel red - they have been standing nearly the entire game.

UPDATE 3 - 8:41 LEFT IN THE SECOND HALF
After remaining quiet since pre-game introductions, the Kent State fans have become vocal with a quiet but audible chant of, “here we go Kent State, here we go.”

Rebel fans are unwilling to let this travesty continue as they challenge the Flashes’ fans with a chant of “let’s go Rebels.”

UPDATE 4 - 2:32 LEFT IN THE SECOND HALF
Joe Darger has come alive for UNLV nailing 7-for-11 including 4-for-8 from behind the arc to lead UNLV with 18 points.

Kent State has committed only two turnovers in the second half after committing 17 in the first half.

Fisher has remained quiet for the Flashes shooting 3-for-15 from the field for six points.

Rougeau has a double double for the Rebels already with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Adams is the last Rebel in double digits with 17 points in the game.

UPDATE 5- 29 SECONDS LEFT IN THE SECOND HALF
The human victory cigar, Scott Hoffman, has now entered the game as the Rebels are poised to close out the Golden Flashes, 69-56 with only a few seconds remaining.

Troy Cage just dunked the ball to get on the books in the final seconds of the contest.

After being in the game for the almost its entirity, Curtis Terry got to spend the last 47.4 seconds on the bench.

FINAL
The Rebels defeat Kent State 71-58.