Wallace lifts Rebels with fours galore

Wallace converted two four-point plays in a span of one minute, 34 seconds, and it took only slightly longer for the game to be decided as the Rebels rolled to an 88-58 victory over South Carolina-Upstate at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Wallace and Oscar Bellfield each hit four 3-pointers and scored 16 points as UNLV improved to 10-1.

A forgettable game against a weak opponent will be remembered for Wallace’s two four-point plays.

"I’ve never seen it before," Wallace said. "I definitely haven’t done it, not even in high school, so to get two real quick was kind of a surprise."

The Rebels next play Tuesday against Southern Methodist in the eight-team Diamond Head Classic in Hawaii, and it was obvious early they would be headed to Honolulu off their third straight victory.

Matt Shaw scored seven points, Bellfield had five and Derrick Jasper dunked on a fast break to put UNLV ahead 14-3 five minutes into the game.

Wallace made a 3-pointer from the left corner, was fouled and added the free throw to make it 21-7 at the 13:35 mark.

After freshman Anthony Marshall hit a jumper, Wallace drained a 3 from the right wing and was knocked into the courtside seats. His free throw put the Rebels ahead 27-7 with 12:01 left.

Even coach Lon Kruger said he could not recall seeing a player convert four-point plays on consecutive shots.

"Certainly not in the same half like that. It’s very rare," Kruger said. "It’s great to see Kendall shooting with terrific confidence."

Wallace made 4 of 8 from 3-point range and Bellfield hit 4 of 5 as UNLV shot 10-for-28 on 3-pointers.

Jasper finished with 11 points, Chace Stanback had 10 points and seven rebounds and Shaw added nine points.

Wallace scored 14 in the first half, and eventually tied the career-high 16 he scored in the season-opening victory over Pittsburg State.

"We’ve got to keep shooting with confidence. We can’t worry about our misses," Wallace said. "Once we start making them, I feel like we get more confidence out there. We tend to not look inside as much, which is probably not a good thing, but we were knocking them down."

The Rebels full-court pressure and trapping harassed the outmanned Spartans (1-9) into 20 turnovers.

Nick Schneiders, a 7-foot-3-inch, 260-pound senior, led USC-Upstate with 22 points. Schneiders showed a soft shooting touch, making 8 of 15 field goals and 6 of 10 free throws. He added seven rebounds and five blocked shots.

"I thought defensively our intensity was pretty consistent from start to finish," Kruger said.

UNLV played without leading scorer Tre’Von Willis, who had a sore back and left ankle.

"I think his back is fine. His ankle stiffened up overnight after Thursday’s game and he wasn’t able to do too much," Kruger said. "He’ll be fine in a couple days."

Wallace was making his third consecutive start in place of Willis.

"Other people have got to step up when someone goes down, especially someone like Tre," Wallace said.

• NOTES — UCLA transfer Drew Gordon, a 6-8 forward, is visiting UNLV this weekend. Gordon was the Bruins’ third-leading scorer at 11.2 points per game when he left the team in early December. He also is considering New Mexico, Notre Dame and San Diego State. … Details are being finalized for the Rebels to play North Carolina at the Orleans Arena in November 2012, with the teams meeting in Chapel Hill, N.C., the following year.

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

UNLV 88

South Carolina-Upstate 58

S.C.-UPSTATE Min FG-A FT-A R A PF TP

Uzochukwu 26 2-5 0-1 5 1 2 4

Palkert 18 0-2 0-0 4 0 2 0

Schneiders 33 8-15 6-10 7 0 4 22

Chavis 31 1-5 0-0 3 4 3 2

Cook 20 2-3 0-0 3 1 0 6

Minus 15 2-3 0-0 1 1 2 6

LeGates 20 3-5 2-2 2 4 0 9

Posey 20 2-4 2-5 0 1 2 6

Rogers 17 1-1 0-0 1 0 2 3

TOTALS 200 21-43 10-18 32 12 17 58

Field goals–48.8%. Free throws–55.6%.

Three-point goals–6-13 (Minus 2-3, Cook 2-3, Rogers 1-1, LeGates 1-2, Chavis 0-2, Posey 0-2). Team rebounds–6. Blocked shots–6 (Schneiders 5, Palkert). Turnovers–20 (Cook 4, Posey 4, Chavis 4, LeGates 4, Minus 2, Schneiders 2). Steals–3 (Chavis, Minus, Posey).

UNLV Min FG-A FT-A R A PF TP

Stanback 23 4-11 2-2 7 1 3 10

Shaw 12 4-5 0-0 1 1 3 9

Bellfield 26 6-7 0-0 2 5 1 16

Wallace 26 5-9 2-2 1 1 1 16

Jasper 20 5-8 1-2 3 2 2 11

Marshall 17 2-11 2-3 4 4 1 6

Norman 5 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0

Massamba 11 2-4 0-0 1 0 1 4

Hanni 5 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 0

Martinez 3 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0

Jones 12 1-4 3-4 4 2 0 5

Hawkins 27 1-8 4-7 1 1 1 7

Santee 13 1-2 2-2 5 0 1 4

TOTALS 200 31-71 16-22 38 17 16 88

Field goals–43.7%. Free throws–72.7%.

Three-point goals–10-28 (Bellfield 4-5, Wallace 4-8, Shaw 1-1, Hawkins 1-5, Jones 0-1, Norman 0-1, Jasper 0-1, Hanni 0-1, Stanback 0-2, Marshall 0-3). Team rebounds–7. Blocked shots–2 (Marshall, Hawkins). Turnovers– 7 (Marshall 3, Jasper 2, Santee 2). Steals–13 (Marshall 5, Jasper 2, Wallace 2, Hawkins 2, Massamba, Norman).

A–11,300. Officials–Larry Spaulding, Winston Stith, Shawn Lehigh. Technical fouls–None.

South Carolina-Upstate 31 27 — 58

UNLV 50 38 — 88