Bellfield punishes UNR again

Bellfield scored a career-high 24 points as 24th-ranked UNLV defeated UNR 82-70 at Lawlor Events Center on Saturday night.

"I had a lot of confidence knowing I play well against this team," said Bellfield, who shot 5-for-6 from 3-point range and added four assists. "I had open looks and just took advantage of it."

The Rebels (8-0) ran to a 22-2 lead, eased off the gas and then held off a late second-half charge by the Wolf Pack (1-6).

"Oscar was fantastic," said UNLV coach Lon Kruger, who picked up his fifth consecutive win in the series between soon-to-be Mountain West Conference rivals. "He hit big shots from the start.

"In the second half, he made shots when we needed to keep them at arm’s length."

Senior guard Derrick Jasper finished with 12 points for the Rebels. Tre’Von Willis scored 11, Justin Hawkins had 10, and freshman forward Carlos Lopez totaled nine points and six rebounds.

Bellfield’s 11 points lifted UNLV to a 46-25 halftime lead.

Bellfield, from Westchester High School in Los Angeles, has made a habit of whipping the Wolf Pack. He scored a career-high 22 in UNLV’s victory last year, and as a freshman he posted a season-high 17 points in the Rebels’ win in Reno.

UNR suffered through a miserable first half offensively, missing its first 13 field-goal attempts and shooting 5-for-24.

Quintrell Thomas worked inside to score the game’s first four points, and Jasper’s steal and layup put the Rebels ahead 6-0. It was 11-2 after Willis’ 3-pointer at the 14:17 mark.

Lopez had a steal and three-point play to put UNLV up 22-2 with 9:43 left in the half.

Jordan Finn’s free throws with 9:33 left drew sarcastic applause from the UNR crowd. Deonte Burton’s baseline jumper with 9:05 to go was the Wolf Pack’s first field goal.

UNR opened the second half with an 8-2 run, and Burton was the force behind the rally.

Burton’s two free throws pulled the Wolf Pack within 59-47 with 9:08 remaining, and his 3-pointer cut the deficit to 10 with 8:05 left.

But Bellfield answered with a 3 to stop the charge just as the crowd of 5,967 was coming to life and sensing an improbable comeback.

"We kind of let down a little bit," Bellfield said. "It really opened our eyes."

The Rebels rolled despite a scoreless night from junior forward Chace Stanback, who entered as the team’s leading scorer at 16.4 points per game. Stanback shot 0-for-2 in 14 minutes.

"Depth has been a key for us," Kruger said. "Chace has been extremely consistent, but foul trouble tonight kept him from getting in a rhythm."

Burton and Malik Story scored 15 points apiece to lead UNR, which shot 58 percent in the second half to finish 23-for-55 (41.8 percent) from the field.

Dario Hunt had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Wolf Pack.

UNLV continued its season-long torrid shooting by finishing 29-for-54 (53.7 percent).

"We were pretty solid defensively for the first 12 minutes," Kruger said. "We got an early lead and played with that margin the rest of the way."

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