Rebel Report Card: Short bench gives a lift in tough loss

BACKCOURT: C+

Cody Doolin had 12 points, four assists and zero turnovers in his final home game at UNLV. Fellow senior Jelan Kendrick had six points and a game-high five assists. It wasn’t enough to overcome the loss of freshman star Patrick McCaw early in the second half as the Rebels fell 60-58 at home to San Diego State on Wednesday night. McCaw had seven points before getting hit in the head, possibly in a collision with teammate Chris Wood, and suffering concussion-like symptoms. He’ll be re-evaluated on Thursday, but there was nothing he could do to help UNLV down the stretch and it showed. McCaw’s absence was glaring every time the Rebels needed someone to make a play on the offensive end. Doolin tried, but his late drive to the basket for what could have been a tying layup was blocked with relative ease. Kendrick was a bit too sloppy at times, as well.

FRONTCOURT: C

Wood and Goodluck Okonoboh combined to block seven shots, which in most cases would suggest solid interior defense. The blocks overshadowed what was a porous effort at times in the paint on defense. San Diego State forward J.J. O’Brien scored 22 points and many of them were on uncontested layups. Wood’s final numbers looked great. The sophomore had 10 points and 16 rebounds in what may have been his final home game for UNLV, but he also turned the ball over three times and went just 4 of 11 from the field. Then there were the lapses against O’Brien. Neither player was completely responsible for him, but both can share the blame. Okonoboh’s improved offensive game took a step backward as he missed his only two shot attempts.

BENCH: A

There are only two guys coming off the bench for UNLV at this point, but both were effective on Wednesday night. Dwayne Morgan was outstanding in limited action, scoring 13 points in just 14 minutes. He made 4 of 6 from the field and went 5-for-7 from the free-throw line. Morgan did pick up four fouls, however, and was relegated to the bench for much of the stretch run. Jordan Cornish knocked down three 3-pointers and they all came at big moments for UNLV. Cornish didn’t make much of an impact beyond those shots, though. He played 24 minutes and will need to expand his output beyond the scoring column as his role increases.

COACHING: C-

To be fair, Dave Rice and his staff didn’t have many options. Patrick McCaw got hurt early in the second half and never returned. Chris Wood hurt his hand and missed a few minutes, as well. At one point, UNLV had just five scholarship players available and one, Morgan, was in foul trouble. The Rebels finished the game with just six players and nearly pulled off an upset.

Morgan’s situation wasn’t handled great, though. He picked up his fourth foul with 9:32 left and didn’t return until the closing seconds. Rice said it had to do with the effective defense Wood and Okonoboh were playing in the second half, but Morgan had given UNLV a big lift in the first half. Why even take him out to protect him from a fifth foul if he’s not going to play anyway?

The Rebels also failed to run an effective play on a pair of key possessions with the game tied and less than two minutes remaining. Cornish tried to save an errant pass and it led to a fast-break layup for the Aztecs. On the next possession, Doolin isolated at the top of the key and got to the rim only to have his shot blocked. It was not a good sequence for UNLV in a season that has seen similar things happen far too often. There were also a few horrible miscommunications on defense that led to wide open San Diego State 3s in the second half.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.