Rebels roll past Cal Poly in Las Vegas Invitational

A breakaway dunk by Anthony Marshall put the exclamation points on UNLV's latest run through an outmanned and overwhelmed opponent Tuesday night.

Marshall finished a play that started with a steal by Justin Hawkins and was facilitated by Oscar Bellfield's assist. It took a while for the usual formula to unfold, but defensive pressure and transition passing led to another offense outburst.

"We're a defensive team, and that's where it starts," Marshall said. "It was a really low-scoring game. But in the second half, we got in transition and made things happen."

Marshall and Mike Moser fueled a big second-half run to propel the Rebels to a 75-52 blowout of Cal Poly in the second round of the Las Vegas Invitational at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Moser had 14 points and eight rebounds, and Marshall finished with 13 points and seven assists as UNLV improved to 5-0 with its third consecutive win by more than 20 points.

Bellfield had 12 points, and Chace Stanback added 11. Stanback's 3-pointer from the corner put the Rebels ahead 48-35 with 12:12 left, and they held the Mustangs (2-2) at a safe distance the rest of the way.

UNLV was up 12 with eight minutes remaining before ripping off a 14-0 rally in less than three minutes to stretch the lead to 64-38. Moser and Marshall each scored six points during the run.

Marshall's breakaway dunk pushed the Rebels' advantage to 20 points with 6:15 to play. After two free throws by Brice Massamba and another Marshall dunk, Moser scooped up a loose ball and dunked.

Cal Poly, a 15-point underdog, hung around for a while by patiently working the shot clock down to the final few seconds on several possessions. But the Mustangs were harassed into a costly string of second-half mistakes.

"We've got to hold a team like that in the 60s," Cal Poly coach Joe Callero said. "You have the Runnin' Rebel mantra, but it's their defense that is so critical to what they do. In two minutes, it went from 13 to 22. They are so explosive."

The Mustangs were effective in slowing the pace in the first half, but Hawkins, Marshall and Moser led the Rebels' charge on the defensive end.

"We played great defense throughout the course of the game," UNLV coach Dave Rice said. "We created a lot of our offense out of our defense. We were concerned about our ability to score. For us to get to 75 points was a huge plus."

Moser had five offensive rebounds, four steals and two blocked shots. Hawkins finished with seven points and three steals.

"Justin is probably the epitome of what we want our guys to be on the defensive end," Rice said.

The Rebels received an unexpected boost from Massamba. The senior center had his best game of the season with 10 points and nine rebounds.

"I really thought one of the keys to the game was Massamba inside," Rice said.

Moser and Massamba scored six points apiece to help build a 29-22 halftime lead. Massamba hit all four of his free throws as the Rebels shot 25-for-31 (80.6 percent) from the line.

"Brice has a lot of potential," Bellfield said. "It takes a game like that to build his confidence."

David Hanson hit three of Cal Poly's eight 3-pointers and scored a game-high 17 points. The Mustangs defeated Southern California 42-36 on Saturday.

The eight-team invitational continues Friday and Saturday at Orleans Arena. UNLV faces USC in a semifinal, before a potential matchup against No. 1 North Carolina in the final.

The combination of Bellfield and Marshall, Rice said, will continue to define the Rebels' success.

"It all starts with the distribution ability of Oscar and Anthony," Rice said. "They absolutely make the team go."

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.