Wood, Rebels roll by 35, set sights on tougher competition
With at least a 4-inch height advantage over the tallest player on the opposing team, UNLV sophomore Chris Wood could have been expected to dominate, and the 6-foot-11-inch forward did exactly that.
The Rebels also started two former McDonald’s All-Americans — Jelan Kendrick and Rashad Vaughn — against a team resembling the Jack in the Box all-stars.
The predictable result was a rout, with plenty of ragged play by both sides, as UNLV put a 100-65 beating on Florida National on Wednesday night in an exhibition at the Thomas &Mack Center.
Wood led the way with 23 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks as the Rebels ran circles around the Conquistadors, a second-year team competing in the obscure United States Collegiate Athletic Association.
The biggest surprise of the night?
“I was very nervous,” Wood said. “I didn’t expect to dominate.”
Another surprise was that former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian watched from a front-row seat, but even his presence didn’t make the glorified scrimmage feel like a real game.
“I’m looking forward to playing a better team,” said Wood, who will get his wish.
The Rebels travel to UCLA for a closed scrimmage Saturday before opening the regular season against Morehead State on Nov. 14.
UNLV coach Dave Rice acknowledged the positives and negatives from the exhibition, with Wood’s play being the most obvious bright spot. Florida National’s tallest player was listed at 6-7, but that was an exaggeration. It was a small team short on talent.
“I think Chris did what was necessary,” Rice said. “We were able to establish him inside. He has the ability to shoot 3-pointers, but we need him in the post and midpost to facilitate offense for us.”
Wood shot 10-for-18 from the field, including 1-for-4 on 3s, in a team-high 24 minutes.
The Rebels also got major contributions from freshmen Vaughn (16 points, six rebounds), Dwayne Morgan (13 points, 14 rebounds) and Patrick McCaw (11 points). McCaw made 3 of 5 3-pointers for a team that shot 7 of 26 from 3.
Senior point guard Cody Doolin (two points, nine assists) ran the offense without searching for his shot, and sophomore Kendall Smith (12 points, nine rebounds) continued to impress as Doolin’s backup.
Kendrick, a senior guard, started and played efficiently, shooting 5-for-7 from the field and scoring 11 points.
Rice found a few flaws, too, saying, “Shot selection is always an issue early in the season. We settled for too many outside shots. I think we have a ways to go on defense. Young guys just need to understand the importance of sustaining effort. We’ve got to play for 40 minutes with a sustained effort on the defensive end.
“We still have a ways to go, and we know that. We know how far we have to go.”
The Rebels scored the first 13 points of the game. The Conquistadors finally scored with a free throw at the 15:50 mark, and then they took advantage of defensive lapses by UNLV.
It was 22-1 before Florida National’s Julian Johnson caught the Rebels sleeping and went back door to dunk a lob pass. Two minutes later, after a timeout, Johnson threw down another dunk when he sliced down the lane and soared for an inbounds pass.
The crowd, announced as 10,253 but considerably smaller, got a thrill when Morgan made two free throws with 19 seconds left to lift the Rebels to the 100-point mark, which they never hit last season.
Doolin, a graduate transfer who started 103 career games at the University of San Francisco, was impressed by Wood’s performance and understood his nervousness.
“The big fella here is a pretty phenomenal-looking athlete, as you can see,” Doolin said as he sat next to Wood. “I’ve played quite a few games, and I was nervous tonight. I don’t think you ever quite get over that.”
Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.
