Terry triggers long-range assault
Even with his long, curly hair flying wildly, UNLV senior Curtis Terry is able to keep it away from his eyes. Nothing obstructed his view of the basket Saturday night.
He was firing jumpers from 20-plus feet with regularity but was so precise that he might as well have been running a layup drill.
Terry hit six 3-pointers and scored 20 points to help the Rebels solve their recent shooting problems in an 84-71 victory over Texas-El Paso at the Thomas & Mack Center.
"After the first one I hit, I felt kind of good," said Terry, who shot 6-for-8 on 3s. "I had a couple shots go down, and they just kept dropping for me."
The same was true for junior forward Joe Darger, who made four 3-pointers and scored a career-high 23 points to lead UNLV (5-2).
Darger hit half of his eight 3-point attempts. The Rebels were shooting just 29.3 percent from 3-point range going into the game but made 10 of 22 to sink the Miners (4-2).
UTEP, hindered greatly by its 3-for-22 3-point shooting, was led by acrobatic guard Stefon Jackson’s 22 points.
"Pretty much in every game there have been some areas of progress," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. "If we can win and learn, that helps."
The Rebels, who bounced back from Tuesday’s last-second loss at UC Santa Barbara, next play Wednesday at Northern Arizona.
Playing at home in front of 10,766 fans, UNLV took control early and led by 12 points late in the first half.
Terry went on a scoring tear, making three 3-pointers as the Rebels closed the first half on a 16-6 run. Darger drilled a 3 that beat the shot clock and sent UNLV into the locker room with a 39-28 lead.
Wink Adams made his first field goal 45 seconds into the second half and scored eight straight points for the Rebels, six on free throws.
Darger worked inside to score, putting UNLV up 53-37 with 16 minutes remaining, but the Miners responded with an 8-0 run.
Terry answered that spurt with two long 3-pointers, the second one making the score 59-47 with 12:28 to go.
"He’s really shooting with confidence," Kruger said. "Curtis is not shy about making big plays, so I don’t think it’s a surprise."
UTEP sliced the deficit as low as eight but never seriously threatened in the final five minutes.
Adams finished with 14 points. He shot 2-for-6 from the field and 10-for-11 on free throws.
Darger made all seven of his free throws and added seven rebounds.
Off the bench for the Rebels, Rene Rougeau had eight points and Lamar Roberson seven points and seven rebounds. Roberson provided one of the night’s highlights with a rebound dunk off Marcus Lawrence’s missed 3 with 11 minutes remaining.
Terry and Darger, who combined to make 10 of 16 3-pointers, showed how well UNLV’s offense can function when shots are falling from the outside.
"Curtis does a great job of coming off screens and getting an open shot, and if they collapse on him he makes a play for a teammate," Darger said.
The Rebels shot 24-for-55 (43.6 percent) from the field to snap out of a minor slump.
"We’re going to be a team that takes a lot of 3s, and tonight they were dropping," Terry said.
Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2907.