UNLV trounces Utah, 78-58

SALT LAKE CITY -- All things considered, UNLV sophomore Anthony Marshall was happy with his bloody and swollen nose.

"It's not broken. I've got a big gash on it," he said. "We got the win, so that's the most important thing."

Aside from the scar on Marshall's nose, the Rebels delivered all the big blows en route to a 78-58 victory over Utah in the Mountain West Conference regular-season finale Saturday.

UNLV (23-7, 11-5) won its fifth consecutive game and secured the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Rebels face No. 6 seed Air Force at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

"It's a good last couple weeks, and a good way to finish the last game," coach Lon Kruger said. "It's a new season now."

UNLV took the fight to the slumping Utes (13-17, 6-10) and knocked them out early.

Oscar Bellfield, Quintrell Thomas and Tre'Von Willis finished with 12 points apiece for the Rebels, who raced to a 25-point halftime lead and quickly silenced a crowd of 9,959 at the Huntsman Center.

"We put it all together," Willis said. "We've been preaching about practicing and preparing to play like this every day, and that's what's paying off."

Bellfield and Justin Hawkins hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put UNLV up 22-8 with 11:45 left in the half. The Rebels made their first eight shots from the field and shot 19-for-31 on the way to a 47-22 lead at the half.

"They were terrific to start the game," Utah coach Jim Boylen said. "They punched us pretty good."

The Rebels were just as tough defensively, harassing the Utes into 1-for-15 shooting in the opening 10 minutes.

"We wanted to set a tone right from the beginning, and we did that," Marshall said. "In the first half, we played excellent basketball."

Marshall took an emergency trip to the locker room with 8:44 left in the half, after he pushed through a screen and was head-butted by Utah guard Josh Watkins. Marshall was face down on the floor while blood gushed from his nose.

He returned about six minutes later and had nine points and six assists.

Nine players scored at least five points for UNLV, including Carlos Lopez (nine), Hawkins (seven), Brice Massamba and Chace Stanback (six apiece) and Derrick Jasper (five).

"It's not like we've got to rely on one person. Everybody is getting something to go," Thomas said.

Despite being at a size disadvantage, the Rebels held a 47-26 advantage in rebounding as Stanback grabbed nine rebounds and Thomas eight.

Watkins led the Utes with 18 points. He was his team's only offensive threat in the first half, scoring 15 points and hitting six of Utah's seven field goals.

Utes backup center Jason Washburn, who had 12 points, called UNLV "the hottest team in the league right now."

The Rebels' late-season rally has all but guaranteed their fourth NCAA Tournament trip in the past five years.

"Now is the time to be playing good basketball," Marshall said. "We want to be first (in the league), but with the kind of up-and-down season we've had, we're happy to be where we're at, and the exciting thing is we feel we can play much better."

UNLV swept two low-scoring games against Air Force in the regular season, including a 49-42 win in Las Vegas on Feb. 15, but no Rebels sounded thrilled about a third meeting with the Falcons.

"That is one of the games that I think nobody in conference would find fun. But we need to come out and just take care of business," Thomas said.

"It definitely does help to end your regular season on a good note. Now that we've kind of pulled it together, it feels good. It's a breath of fresh air."

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