Adams, Rebels get in gear early, coast

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A slow start to the season bothered UNLV guard Wink Adams, but those problems are behind him. It was Adams’ fast start that triggered the team on Saturday.

“Wink seems to be in a pretty good comfort zone,” Rebels coach Lon Kruger said.

The junior scored his 1,000th career point in a 74-48 victory over Tennessee-Martin before a crowd of 7,899 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Adams reached the milestone by making a free throw with 18:34 to play. It was his only point of the second half.

He had done enough in the first half, scoring 19 of his 20 points to lift UNLV to a 44-16 lead.

“I feel like I’m in a real good rhythm. I’m playing with more composure,” Adams said. “I’ve been slowing down a lot and getting the shots I want.

“I know I can depend on my teammates and depend on them to find me, and I think we’re getting that chemistry.”

Adams shot 7-for-11 from the field and 3-for-4 on free throws. He made 3 of 4 3-point attempts.

Sophomore center Matt Shaw finished with 13 points and seven rebounds in a team-high 25 minutes off the bench. Junior forward Joe Darger supplied 11 points and six rebounds.

The Rebels (8-3) get a five-day break before playing Kennesaw State on Friday in the four-team Duel in the Desert event.

Five minutes into Saturday’s game, UNLV led 12-4 and was on the way to blowing out the Skyhawks (5-7) of the Ohio Valley Conference.

Kruger said he was pleased to see his players suffered no hangover after the Rebels’

52-49 loss to Arizona on Wednesday.

“Sometimes after a loss as tough as the other night, it can be difficult,” Kruger said. “I felt good about the energy and effort our guys came out with in the first half.”

Mareceo Rutledge’s fast-break layup off an assist from Marcus Lawrence made the score 24-10 with 9:20 remaining in the half.

UNLV never trailed, and its largest lead reached 33 points midway through the second half.

Aside from smooth junior guard Lester Hudson, who had 26 points and 11 rebounds, Tennessee-Martin had little to offer.

“We knew he was going to score. He’s a great player, and he can shoot it,” Adams said. “It was a team effort to try to shut him down. We took them out of their offense and made them take a lot of tough shots.”

Hudson shot 8-for-22 from the field, and the rest of the Skyhawks were a combined 8-for-38.

Kruger was able to get playing time for all his reserves. Sophomore forward Lamar Roberson had eight points and seven rebounds in 19 minutes, and freshman guard Troy Cage scored two points in eight minutes in his career debut.

“I think it was really good for some guys to play a lot of minutes in the second half and build confidence,” Adams said. “That was our plan.”

Adams has averaged 17.3 points in the past four games. He is the 33rd player in UNLV history to reach 1,000 career points.

“Wink is aggressive to score, and he’s finding teammates, and that’s what you expect Wink to do,” Kruger said.

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

UNLV 74

Tennessee-Martin 48

UT-MARTIN Min FG-A FT-A R A PF TP

Riedewald 25 0-1 0-0 4 0 1 0

Hay 32 0-3 1-2 5 0 4 1

Wright 17 1-3 0-0 1 2 2 2

Weddle 24 1-11 0-0 3 1 0 2

Hudson 38 8-22 8-9 11 2 1 26

Simmons 11 3-5 2-2 4 0 0 8

Pearson 10 1-4 0-2 1 2 1 2

Bailey 20 2-9 0-0 1 0 0 6

Irarrazabal 23 0-2 1-2 7 2 1 1

TOTALS 200 16-60 12-17 42 9 10 48

Field goals–26.7%. Free throws–70.6%.

Three-point goals–4-26 (Bailey 2-8, Hudson 2-8, Wright 0-2, Pearson 0-2, Weddle 0-6). Team rebounds–5. Blocked shots–2 (Irarrazabal 2). Turnovers–19 (Hudson 4, Pearson 3, Riedewald 3, Wright 2, Weddle 2, Simmons 2, Bailey, Hay). Steals–5 (Hudson 3, Pearson, Hay). Technical Fouls–None.

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

Bailey 17 3-4 0-0 5 1 2 6

Darger 18 4-8 0-0 6 0 1 11

Adams 23 7-11 3-4 5 2 1 20

Rougeau 19 2-5 0-2 6 2 3 4

Terry 21 1-6 0-0 2 9 1 2

Rutledge 14 1-5 1-2 1 2 2 3

Roberson 19 3-6 2-5 7 2 2 8

Wallace 16 2-4 0-0 3 0 1 5

Hoffman 5 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0

Cage 8 1-3 0-0 0 0 0 2

Lawrence 15 0-0 0-0 1 2 1 0

Shaw 25 6-10 0-1 7 2 1 13

TOTALS 200 30-63 6-14 45 22 15 74

Field goals–47.6%. Free throws–42.9%.

Three-point goals–8-25 (Adams 3-4, Darger 3-6, Shaw 1-2, Wallace 1-3, Roberson 0-1, Hoffman 0-1, Cage 0-2, Terry 0-3, Rutledge 0-3). Team Rebounds–2. Blocked Shots–5 (Roberson 2, Lawrence, Shaw, Rougeau). Turnovers–15 (Wallace 4, Terry 3, Cage 2, Lawrence, Rutledge, Rougeau, Adams, Roberson, Bailey). Steals–8 (Terry 2, Rougeau 2, Wallace, Bailey, Shaw, Adams). Technical Fouls–None.

A–7,899. Officials–Jim Stupin, Doran Gotschall, Casey McClellan.

Tennessee-Martin 16 32 — 48

UNLV 44 30 — 74