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No. 17 Rebels rout Cal State Bakersfield for seventh straight win

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- Five minutes into the game, Mike Moser had made a 3-pointer and dunked. His goal was to get UNLV off to a fast start, and then go even faster.

The Rebels' running attack stalled a few times over the past two months, but they finished the nonconference season with a flourish Thursday night.

Moser had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Justin Hawkins also scored 17 to lead No. 17 UNLV to an 89-57 victory over Cal State Bakersfield before 3,325 fans at Rabobank Arena.

"It has become our mentality to get the ball out and go," Moser said. "It has become second nature to us now to run."

The Rebels (16-2) shot 51.3 percent while putting up 51 second-half points en route to their seventh consecutive win.

With an eight-day break before Mountain West Conference play begins Jan. 14 at San Diego State, UNLV will hear a lot about how it is tabbed the league favorite.

"We're happy with our position. We're going to get everyone's best shot," coach Dave Rice said. "I've gone into every game thinking we're going to win that game if we played hard and we played well."

In improving to 4-2 on the road, the Rebels did not always play at a high level against the Roadrunners, a Division I independent. But a sloppy first half by both teams quickly turned one-sided.

Leading 38-27 at halftime, UNLV put together a 16-2 run in the first four minutes of the second half and led 54-29 after Oscar Bellfield's 3-pointer. Bellfield emerged from a shooting slump to score seven of his 13 points during the rally.

The Rebels' backcourt rotation of Bellfield, Hawkins, Anthony Marshall and Reggie Smith forced a fast pace that overwhelmed the Roadrunners (7-9).

"Our defense is more aggressive, and our offense is a lot faster," Bellfield said, when asked to draw a comparison to last season. "I feel like we're a great team, but I also feel we can do better."

Marshall dunked four times on his way to 12 points. Bellfield and Smith each had a team-high five assists. Hawkins made 4 of 7 3-pointers.

"Once again, I thought our depth wore a team out," Rice said.

Junior forward Quintrell Thomas was strong in the post and had eight points, five rebounds and four blocked shots.

Thomas backed up sophomore forward Carlos Lopez, who produced seven points and six rebounds in his first career start. Brice Massamba, a senior who started the first 17 games at center, sat out because of concussion-like symptoms.

UNLV, occasionally using full-court trapping, outscored Bakersfield 18-2 on the fast break and forced the Roadrunners to shoot 20-for-57 (35.1 percent) from the field.

Zach Lamb scored 16 points and Stephon Carter 13 for Bakersfield, which hosted an Associated Press Top 25 team for the first time. But the home fans were quiet in comparison to the several hundred Rebels supporters in attendance.

"The fans came out in great numbers and it really gave us a boost," Moser said.

UNLV associate head coach Justin Hutson won a pair of Division II championships as a backup point guard for the Roadrunners during the early 1990s, and the game was scheduled partly as a homecoming for him.

"We really wanted to win this game for Coach Hutson," Moser said. "It's a big game for him."

Rice emptied his bench late, and sophomore guard Karam Mashour took advantage of his opportunity. Mashour took off from about outside the lane on the baseline and dunked to set off a wild celebration.

"That was probably the highlight of the game right here," Moser said.

The Rebels exceeded expectations by notching 16 nonconference wins, including victories over then-No. 1 North Carolina, Illinois and California.

"Our 16-2 record shows that we've had some ups and downs," Hawkins said. "We've learned a lot about ourselves. We've been really battle tested."

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

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