Adams breaks Pack’s back

He changed his plan of attack and it made all the difference.

“I was having a tough time with my shooting, but I knew I had to stay aggressive and score,” he said. “Just playing defense and forcing turnovers opened it up, and I was able to get to the rim and get some layups.”

Adams scored 11 of his 17 points in the second half and the Rebels used defense, hustle and muscle to defeat UNR 79-67 on Saturday night before a crowd of 13,068 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

In a two-minute stretch late in the second half, Adams scored seven consecutive points for UNLV on three layups and a free throw, extending a 60-55 lead to 67-57.

Adams’ steal and three-point play capped his 7-2 run with 5:05 remaining.

Corey Bailey followed with a driving baseline jumper to make it 69-58 a minute later. Bailey finished with 14 points as five Rebels scored in double figures.

UNLV (4-1) bounced back from a 20-point home loss to No. 6 Louisville on Wednesday to beat the Wolf Pack for the second straight year.

“We needed that very badly,” Rebels coach Lon Kruger said. “It was a game in which a lot of guys contributed.

“The effort defensively from start to finish was really good. We need to be a team that improves our shooting, and that starts with our shot selection. We’ll start taking higher percentage shots.”

That’s what Adams did after a miserable first half in which he shot 2-for-11. He finished 6 of 20 and made all five of his free throws.

“The 3s he took were deep, and a couple were too deep,” Kruger said. “But I thought he attacked a little bit more tonight.”

After shooting only 34 percent in the first half, and leading 32-31, UNLV made 16 of 30 from the field in the second half. The Rebels opened the second half with a 12-6 run.

“Our defense was not very good, especially at the start of the second half,” UNR coach Mark Fox said.

JaVale McGee, the Wolf Pack’s 7-foot sophomore, dominated in the middle with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Senior guard Marcelus Kemp, UNR’s leading scorer, was held to 11 points, seven below his average. Kemp shot 1-for-5 from 3-point range and the Wolf Pack was 2-for-12.

UNR (2-2) trailed by 11 before closing the gap to 70-65 on Demarshay Johnson’s dunk with 1:32 left. UNLV center Matt Shaw answered with a 15-foot jumper with 1:04 to go.

The Rebels forced 19 turnovers and converted them into 30 points.

“The No. 1 thing Coach Kruger stresses is defense. I think that’s our identity right now,” Bailey said. “That’s something we need to continue to do throughout the season to be successful.”

Shaw, who made two 3-pointers, finished with 13 points and nine rebounds for UNLV. Joe Darger made three 3s on his way to 13 points, and senior guard Curtis Terry had 11 points.

Kemp was held to four points in the first half. His second basket, a jumper in the lane, put the Wolf Pack up 24-20 with 4:24 left. The Rebels closed the half with a 12-7 run

McGee had 11 points and five rebounds in the first half. He was surrounded by two or three defenders every time he touched the ball, but was able to elevate over the crowd.

“McGee is an outstanding talent,” Kruger said. “He had his way with us in the first half.”

UNLV next plays Tuesday at UC Santa Barbara.

“It was a big bounce-back for us,” Bailey said, “and now we can go on the road with more confidence.”

UNLV 79

UNR 67

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

DJohnson 34 3-6 2-6 6 1 3 8

McGee 28 8-12 4-9 13 2 2 20

Fields 33 1-6 2-2 4 5 2 5

AJohnson 36 7-13 1-3 5 0 4 15

Kemp 31 4-13 2-2 6 2 4 11

LaGrone 12 1-1 0-0 1 0 2 2

Cooke 14 1-1 4-4 3 0 3 6

Kraemer 7 0-1 0-0 2 1 0 0

Ellis 5 0-2 0-0 0 0 2 0

TOTALS 200 25-55 15-26 44 11 22 67

Field goals–45.5%. Free throws–57.7%.

Three-point goals–2-12 (Fields 1-2, Kemp 1-5, Ellis 0-1, Kraemer 0-1, A.Johnson 0-3). Team rebounds–4. Blocked shots–5 (D.Johnson 3, A.Johnson, McGee). Turnovers–19 (A.Johnson 4, McGee 4, Kemp 3, Fields 3, Cooke 2, LaGrone, Ellis, D.Johnson). Steals–2 (A.Johnson, Fields).

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

Bailey 25 5-8 3-3 2 2 3 14

Shaw 32 4-11 3-8 9 0 4 13

Darger 26 3-6 4-4 7 1 4 13

Adams 38 6-20 5-5 2 2 0 17

Terry 30 4-8 3-5 1 6 1 11

Rutledge 7 1-1 0-0 0 0 2 3

Roberson 6 1-1 0-0 1 0 2 2

Hoffman 0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Lawrence 18 1-3 0-0 1 3 0 2

Rougeau 18 2-4 0-0 3 1 4 4

TOTALS 200 27-62 18-25 33 15 20 79

Field goals–43.5%. Free throws–72.0%.

Three-point goals–7-19 (Darger 3-5, Shaw 2-4, Bailey 1-1, Rutledge 1-1, Lawrence 0-1, Terry 0-1, Adams 0-6). Team rebounds–7. Blocked shots–3 (Darger, Rutledge, Rougeau). Turnovers–8 (Roberson 2, Darger 2, Bailey, Rutledge, Terry, Adams). Steals–12 (Rougeau 3, Adams 2, Shaw 2, Lawrence 2, Terry 2, Bailey).

A–13,068. Officials–Verne Harris, Winston Stith, Larry Spaulding. Technical fouls–None.

UNR 31 36 — 67

UNLV 32 47 — 79