LAHAINA » Like a show on the Las Vegas strip, Chaminade’s smoke and mirrors kept UNLV engaged for about an hour.

Then the Runnin’ Rebels had seen enough.

UNLV trailed the Division II host of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational by four at halftime, only to explode for a 60-point second half in a 93-73 victory over the Silverswords at the Lahaina Civic Center.

The lengthy, athletic Rebels (4-1) didn’t shoot it well from the outside or the free-throw line. They didn’t need to. They were a menace in the open court, forcing 22 turnovers — including several during a key stretch of the second half — and dominated the short ‘Swords inside to the tune of a 64-26 paint scoring advantage.

UNLV freshman Derrick Jones Jr. (26 points on 12-for-18 shooting, 10 rebounds) punctuated the lopsided half with a soaring left-handed dunk in transition. Patrick McCaw added 25 points on 11-for-16 shooting.

“For the most part, I thought we played right with them for about 34 minutes,” Chaminade coach Eric Bovaird said.

“The turnovers were key. I’m not sure if it woke (UNLV) up. I’m sure the dunk that Derrick Jones threw down might have woken them up a little bit.”

Chaminade sophomore guard Dantley Walker, a transfer from UNLV, was well familiar with the Rebels’ run-and-gun tactics. The Rebels lost two players from last season to the NBA (Rashad Vaughn and Christian Wood), but he knew most of the roster.

“It was pretty exciting. I was pretty happy to play them,” Walker said. “It was fun to share the court with them. I mean, obviously we wanted to win, to play our best. We had a good first half and we thought we had a real shot. They just wore us down.”

Chaminade’s zone defense held up for much of the first half as they built an eight-point lead. At halftime, when they led 37-33, it appeared the ‘Swords (0-4) had a real shot to add UNLV to its pile of victims in the Maui Invitational. Instead, Chaminade fell behind in a hail of dunks and dropped to 7-86 all-time in the event, despite shooting 10-for-19 on 3-pointers.

UNLV coach Dave Rice chalked up the slow start to the Rebels’ 77-75 quarterfinal loss to UCLA in Monday’s nightcap.

“First of all, Chaminade was really good in the first half. Our team was really down after last night,” Rice said. “I think that’s probably human nature.”

Chaminade’s Rohndell Goodwin had 18 points, but scored just two after the break. Playmaker Sam Daly picked up three first-half fouls and was ineffective upon his return in the second half.

Silverswords junior wing Kiran Shastri hit three 3s and has 172 for his career. He needs three to break George Gilmore’s career record at Chaminade.

Walton the casual celebrity

Basketball Hall of Famer Bill Walton has been a central part of the tournament scene at the Lahaina Civic Center over the first two days of competition.

The outspoken former center with the Portland Trail Blazers and Boston Celtics is an ESPN color commentator and has gotten plenty of Twitter traffic for his eccentric asides and anecdotes. But the 6-foot-11 63-year-old also has been noticed for wearing sunglasses, a simple T-shirt and shorts courtside. He’s worn a smile as he’s walked around the gym shaking hands and taking pictures between games.

Another Hall of Famer, St. John’s coach Chris Mullin, has worn shorts while coaching — an unusual sight.

Two-time champion guaranteed

With No. 19 Vanderbilt’s 86-64 win over Wake Forest in Tuesday’s first semifinal, it guaranteed there would be no new winner of the event this year.

Vanderbilt was one of Maui’s first winners in 1986 behind the play of MVP Will Perdue. Kansas won it in 1996 with the tandem of Raef LaFrentz and Paul Pierce.