Reboundin’ Rebels repel Rainbows

In a theatrical matinee, the UNLV basketball team proved its dominance by leaps and ’bounds.

The Runnin’ Rebels controlled rebounding and then Hawaii for a 73-59 victory in the opening round of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic.

A Stan Sheriff Center crowd of 3,172 saw the Rebels unravel the Rainbow Warriors’ good work with an aggressive man-to-man defense and insatiable hunger for rebounds. The Rebels constructed a 44-29 rebounding advantage, including 24-13 after the intermission.

“Shots didn’t fall, and rebounding was a big difference,” said UH coach Eran Ganot, whose ’Bows play Colorado today at 2 p.m.

To counter the Rebels’ length — their starters averaged nearly 6-foot-8 — the ’Bows shuffled their lineup. Eddie Stansberry, a 6-3 guard, made his second start, and 6-6 Samuta Avea opened at wing. The ’Bows also rotated their three 7-foot freshmen as reserves.

“We tried to play a little bigger,” Ganot said. “I think we’ve been playing small.”

The Rebels raced to a 23-10 lead.

“They kind of hit us in the mouth to start the game,” UH point guard Drew Buggs said.

But the ’Bows answered with a 16-1 run to take a 26-24 lead with 2:14 to play in the first half. The ’Bows led 28-26 at the intermission after holding the Rebels to one field goal in the final 8 minutes, 26 seconds of the first half.

“The Rainbow Warriors were really, really fighting at home,” UNLV coach Marvin Menzies said. “They fed off their crowd.”

And then the Rebels went to the second phase of their game plan, aggressively attacking the offensive glass and challenging every UH shot. The Rebels hit 14 of their 26 second-half shots, but rebounded nine of those misses. They finished with 18 second-chance points.

“I thought defensively we were pretty good for the game, but we didn’t defend the second chance very well,” Ganot said. “We didn’t get it done. That’s the bottom line.”

The ’Bows also struggled with their aim. They shot 32.1 percent in the second half. They missed their first eight 3-point attempts after the intermission before Stansberry buried a trey with 4:32 to play. By then, the ’Bows, who were outscored 15-1 during one stretch, were down 58-46.

“It’s hard to get open looks and good shots with their length and the way they fly around on defense,” Buggs said. “We got some pretty good looks. We just weren’t making them. And you can’t control the shots that are going in on a nightly basis, but what we can control is our effort and energy on the defensive end and on the glass. That’s something we didn’t execute to the level we need … and that’s something we need to continue to work on.”

Menzies noted the Rebels have separate game plans for each half.

“Then we cheer them on and get them riled up at the end of that (at halftime),” Menzies said. “We arm them with the information, and then we arm them with emotion, and then it’s up to them to go out and execute the war plan.”

Ganot said: “On the one hand, there’s their size. On the other hand, they also out-scrapped us.”

Buggs finished with a team-high 16 points. Mate Colina, one of the three 7-footers, had a season-high 13 points on 4-for-4 shooting. For UNLV, Joel Ntambwe recorded a double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds) and Mbacke Dionge grabbed 10 rebounds.

Bucknell 84, Rhode Island 82

Five time zones and 59 years and a day removed from their last meeting, Bucknell ran its winning streak against Rhode Island to two games, earning its first meeting with TCU. The Bison (5-5) found their range — both close and long distance — in rallying past the Rams (5-4).

Bucknell hit 19 of 26 free throws, going 7-for-8 in the final 4:31, and had seven of its nine 3-pointers in the final 20 minutes to defeat Rhode Island for the first time since a 74-66 victory in Philadelphia on Dec. 21, 1959.

The Bison used a balanced attack with four starters in double figures, led by senior center Nate Sestina (16 points, 10 rebounds) and sophomore guard Jimmy Sotos (16 points, six assists).

The Rams got a career-high 26 points from sophomore guard Fatts Russell, 17 coming in the first half against his hometown team. Rhode Island finished with eight 3-pointers, but just two in the second half, while being continually plagued by poor free-throw shooting (12-for-23).

Indiana State 72, Colorado 67

In the first game, Indiana State held off a frenetic Colorado rally for the victory.

Fueled by point guard Jordan Barnes, the Sycamores built a 48-34 lead — the largest of the game — with 15:50 to play. But the Buffaloes closed to 66-65 with 1:15 left on Shane Gatling’s 3 from the left corner.

The Sycamores made it 68-65 on Tyreke Key’s putback of Christian Williams’ scoop shot.

Colorado’s McKinley Wright then drove the baseline for a layup, but missed a chance to tie when his ensuing free throw lipped out.

The Buffaloes also failed to even it when Gatling’s 3-point attempt did not fall with 7.2 seconds to play.

Barnes finished with a game-high 19 points.

Tyler Bey’s 16 points led the Buffaloes, whose six-game winning streak ended.