Rebels dodge KO behind 1-2 punch

The surprise element of the Rebels’ attack was freshman guard Justin Hawkins, who provided a "big boost," as Willis put it.

Willis scored 21 points and Stanback had a career-high 19 to lift UNLV to an 80-72 victory over Colorado State in a Mountain West Conference game at Moby Arena.

Stanback poured in 15 points in the second half, and Willis made 7 of 8 free throws in the final three minutes to help the Rebels pull away.

"We knew it was going to be a fight, but we knew we had to get this win," said Stanback, who shot 7-for-11 from the field, 5-for-5 at the line and grabbed five rebounds. "We really played hard. We’re a tough team to beat."

UNLV (15-4, 3-2 MWC) was almost in must-win mode after suffering a home loss to Utah on Saturday, and coach Lon Kruger was relieved with this result.

"It’s hard to win road games, and this is a big one," Kruger said. "Tre was real tough down the stretch, and we had to have it."

Willis has topped 20 points in all five conference games. Stanback scored in double figures for the fourth in a row. Hawkins was the wild card in the game.

"We’re such a deep team," Hawkins said. "You don’t know who’s going to carry us from one night to the next."

Hawkins came off the bench to score nine points and propel the Rebels to a 38-33 halftime lead.

Hawkins converted a four-point play — the first one of his life, he said — to put UNLV up 30-27 with 5:23 remaining. He added two free throws about a minute later, and Willis’ steal and layup pushed the Rebels’ lead to 34-27.

"Justin definitely was the difference in the first half," Willis said. "He was a big boost. He made us go."

Hawkins, who was averaging 3.5 points, had scored two points in a total of seven minutes in the Rebels’ previous three games. He had not hit double figures since getting 12 points against Holy Cross on Nov. 25.

"Everything just relaxed for me. Confidence just went through me," said Hawkins, who hit both of his 3-pointers and finished with 10 points in 14 minutes. "I hit that first shot, I hit another one, and then I thought maybe I could hit three, four or five."

The Rams (11-7, 2-2) opened the second half with a 9-2 run and took a 42-40 lead on Dorian Green’s 25-foot jumper. Willis responded with a 3-pointer, and Stanback dropped a pair of mid-range jumpers to put the Rebels back in front.

Green’s 3-pointer tied it at 47 with 15:16 left, and the teams essentially traded baskets until the three-minute mark.

Stanback hit 6 of 8 shots in the second half, mostly on mid-range jumpers from the baseline and wings.

"Every time I put the ball on the floor, they backed off a little bit, so I pulled up and shot the jumper," Stanback said. "I’ve been shooting that all my life, and it’s been successful for me."

Travis Franklin’s rebound basket pulled Colorado State within 72-70 with 1:22 left. On UNLV’s next possession, Oscar Bellfield passed inside to Brice Massamba, who dropped in a reverse layup.

After the Rams’ Adam Nigon missed a 3, Stanback hit two free throws with 34 seconds to go. Willis, who missed a key free throw late in the Utah loss, made four foul shots to seal it.

Green, a freshman guard, sank 5 of 8 3-pointers and had 20 points for Colorado State. Franklin added 17 points and nine rebounds, but he hurt his team at the line by making only 3 of 14.

Bellfield finished with eight points and eight assists and Derrick Jasper had six points and nine rebounds for the Rebels, who shot 27-for-50 from the field.

"We’ve been trying to put teams away," Willis said. "We let them hang around and hang around. But we did a good job at the end."

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