Adams, fast-starting Rebels dominate Lobos

Expending energy on both ends of the floor is important to UNLV guard Wink Adams, who puts a high priority on playing defense.

But he obviously cares about scoring, too, and he has been especially good at that lately.

Adams continued his hot shooting Saturday night, scoring 17 of his 24 points in the first half to lead the Rebels to a 79-60 victory over New Mexico at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"My confidence has been real high," said Adams, averaging 23.8 points over the past four games. "I've kind of been in a zone."

UNLV upped its record to 17-4 and remained tied for first in the Mountain West Conference at 6-1.

Adams got started early and left no doubt about the outcome. He made three 3-pointers and shot 9-for-14.

The Rebels threw a defensive swarm at the Lobos (16-6, 3-4) and raced to a 20-point halftime lead.

"The guys opened up with really good energy and great intensity," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. "We forced a lot of turnovers early, and I think that surprised them a little bit."

Junior forward Joe Darger scored 17 points for the Rebels, who also got 13 points from Matt Shaw and 11 from Rene Rougeau.

UNLV's pressing and trapping on the defensive end forced New Mexico into 22 turnovers.

"We realize that what's going to win us games is our defense and our intensity," Darger said. "From the opening tip, we got into them. Anytime we do that, I think the opposing team is going to be a little rattled."

Adams' jumper with 10:05 remaining gave the Rebels their biggest lead at 64-34.

Adams finished with three of the team's 11 steals. He received a loud ovation from the crowd of 14,056 when Kruger pulled him out with 5:14 remaining.

"I think Wink was really solid," Kruger said. "He's aggressive off the dribble and making plays for teammates, and he's covering on the other end."

J.R. Giddens was the high scorer for the Lobos with 13 points. But Giddens did most of scoring in garbage time, long after the game was decided.

UNLV shot 28-for-57 from the field and operated its offense smoothly while compiling 20 assists. Senior guard Curtis Terry was held to five points but had seven assists.

"As much as any group I've ever been around, I don't think these guys ever look at a stat sheet," Kruger said. "They don't care at all about individual stuff."

Adams, a junior who is putting together one of the most impressive scoring streaks of his career, agreed with that assessment.

"Nobody looks at the stats," Adams said. "Everybody is just happy that we win."

The Lobos, doing a close imitation of the Washington Generals, committed 11 turnovers in the first 10 minutes of the game.

They trailed 21-5 after Rougeau cut through the lane and scored. On the Rebels' next possession, Terry threw a lob pass to Corey Bailey for a dunk.

Darger hit a 3-pointer to put UNLV up 30-8 with 5:30 left in the half.

New Mexico shot 6-for-20 and had 16 turnovers in a first half that had coach Steve Alford scowling at his team's clumsy play.

The Rebels shot 16-for-30 and held a 40-20 lead at the break.

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

UNLV 79

New Mexico 60

NEW MEXICO Min FG-A FT-A R A PF TP

Martinez 20 2-4 4-6 5 0 3 10

Faris 27 3-11 3-4 6 1 2 9

Gary 31 3-9 0-0 3 7 3 7

Giddens 30 6-10 1-2 7 1 4 13

Toppert 24 2-5 0-0 3 0 2 6

Wills 23 2-5 1-2 5 2 2 7

Harris 8 0-0 1-4 1 0 2 1

Smith 15 0-3 1-3 0 0 2 1

Pegues 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0

Prentice 17 2-4 1-2 3 0 2 6

TOTALS 200 20-51 12-23 37 11 23 60

Field goals--39.2%. Free throws--52.2%.

Three-point goals--8-24 (Martinez 2-3, Toppert 2-4, Wills 2-5, Prentice 1-3, Gary 1-3, Smith 0-3, Giddens 0-3). Team rebounds--4. Blocked shots--3 (Giddens 2, Wills). Turnovers--22 (Martinez 5, Giddens 5, Faris 4, Smith 4, Gary, Pegues, Prentice, Toppert). Steals--2 (Faris, Giddens).

UNLV Min FG-A FT-A R A PF TP

Bailey 25 4-5 0-0 2 1 1 8

Terry 22 1-5 3-4 2 7 3 5

Darger 28 5-10 4-5 3 1 0 17

Adams 28 9-14 3-5 4 1 3 24

Rougeau 21 5-7 1-2 4 3 4 11

Rutledge 9 0-2 0-0 3 0 3 0

Wallace 14 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0

Cage 6 0-1 0-0 0 1 2 0

Lawrence 22 0-1 1-2 3 3 1 1

Shaw 25 4-11 5-7 6 3 3 13

TOTALS 200 28-57 17-25 31 20 21 79

Field goals--49.1%. Free throws--68.0%.

Three-point goals--6-24 (Darger 3-6, Adams 3-7, Bailey 0-1, Lawrence 0-1, Wallace 0-1, Shaw 0-4, Terry 0-4). Team rebounds--4. Blocked shots--1 (Shaw). Turnovers--9 (Lawrence 2, Bailey 2, Terry 2, Shaw, Darger, Rougeau). Steals--11 (Adams 3, Rougeau 2, Bailey 2, Wallace, Lawrence, Darger, Terry).

A--14,056. Officials--Lonnie Dixon, Ruben Ramos, Michael Irving. Technical fouls--New Mexico: None. UNLV: None.

New Mexico 20 40 -- 60

UNLV 40 39 -- 79