Rebels up 10 at the half
Oscar Bellfield had nine first-half points and three assists to lead UNLV to a 40-30 halftime advantage against 16th-ranked Louisville at halftime at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Tre’Von Willis added eight points, four rebounds and three assists for the Rebels. Derrick Jasper has seven for UNLV, which went 5 of 12 from the 3-point line in the half.
Louisville got seven points each from Samardo Samuels, Edgar Sosa and Jerry Smith. The Cardinals never had the lead in the first half, while UNLV has led by as many as 11 points.
After UNLV jumped out to an early lead, the Cardinals went on a run to tie the game at 20-20. The Rebels responded with a 12-2 run that featured 3-pointers by Tre’Von Willis and Matt Shaw, and a highlight-reel ally-oop to Derrick Jasper.
Louisville had the lead at eight in the closing seconds, but Willis hit a runner off the glass at the buzzer to push the margin back to double-digits at the break.
Good foul?
Tre’Von Willis was called for an intentional foul when he grabbed Jerry Smith, who was releasing on a fast break with about six minutes left in the first half.
Smith would have taken a pass behind the defense and likely streaked ahead for a dunk had Willis not grabbed his jersey.
The crowd was incensed at the call, but Smith missed both free throws and the Cardinals failed to convert on the ensuing possession, so it turned out to be a pretty good break for the Rebels.
Crowd loving it
After a Kendall Wallace 3-pointer put the Rebels up 18-11 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half, the defense trapped a Louisville player and forced a tie-up that gave the ball back to UNLV.
The crowd responded with as loud a roar as has been heard in this building in a long time.
The lower bowl is nearly full, as are the center sections of the upper bowl.
There are even plenty of people in the corner sections upstairs.
The Rebels have given them plenty to cheer about also. A team that has been plagued by bad starts in recent years jumped out quickly today and made some nice hustle plays that really got the crowd into the game.
Featured game
Today’s game is being televised nationally on Versus, but it is also the lead game being featured on Yahoo’s college basketball page.
The headline and story talk about the coaching matchup between Lon Kruger and Rick Pitino.
Pitino is easily the winner between the pair when it comes to quotability and having sex with married women on restaurant tables.
Let the jokes begin
The Rick Pitino infidelity jokes have been circulating the Thomas & Mack Center like the swine flu.
An unnamed UNLV athletics department employee even made a comment that involved sex and the tables in the media room.
He then asked to not be included in the blog.
Good luck with that.
