UNLV Shuts Down Long Beach State Again

This place has never been much fun for Long Beach State. And nothing changed Saturday night.

Which meant only one thing: Leaving Las Vegas a loser again.

Nevada Las Vegas handed Long Beach State its first Big West Conference loss, an 85-72 defeat in front of 9,473 at the Thomas & Mack Center. UNLV easily broke Long Beach State’s 1-3-1 halfcourt zone and shutdown its interior offense. Moreover, it outhustled Long Beach State throughout the game.

“It’s my responsibility to get my guys ready to play on the road, and I obviously didn’t do a good enough job,” said Long Beach State Coach Seth Greenberg, whose team dropped to 7-5, 2-1 in the Big West. “[UNLV] had to play with a sense of urgency and we had to pick up our level of play, and we didn’t do that.”

UNLV (5-7, 2-2) built a 14-point, first-half lead and led by as many as 21 points in the second half. Guard Jermaine Smith had 21 points for UNLV. Forward Clayton Johnson had 18 points and 12 rebounds, and forward Warren Rosegreen had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

“They beat us to every loose ball, and Johnson and Rosegreen just dominated us,” Greenberg said. “I’m really disappointed with our effort.”

Long Beach State guard James Cotton led all scorers with 22 points. Guard Rasul Salahuddin had 13 points and five assists, and forward Akeli Jackson had 12 points and five rebounds. That isn’t much as good news goes, but it’s all Long Beach State had this night.

UNLV leads the all-time series, 33-9. Long Beach State has not won at Las Vegas since the 1987-88 season. UNLV’s 92-75 victory over the 49ers last season prevented Long Beach from earning a share of the Big West title.

By the middle of the second half Saturday night, fans were standing and cheering after every UNLV basket, blocked shot and rebound. It seemed as if the glory days of Rebel basketball were back again, but the 49ers often inspire that feeling.

The Rebels made their move with an impressive stretch of offense during the middle of the first half, enabling them to take a 39-30 halftime lead and set the tone for what remained.

Problems mounted quickly for Long Beach State. Forward Juaquin Hawkins injured his left ankle with about 14 minutes remaining in the first half while diving into the UNLV bench in pursuit of a ball.

“Not as an excuse, but losing Hawk probably hurt us,” Greenberg said. “He really is the best at the front of the zone.”

Hawkins was forced to leave the game for almost 11 minutes as trainers wrapped his ankle in ice. The loss was key because Hawkins is the 49ers’ best defender and the point man in their zone defense.

Without Hawkins to apply pressure at the top of the zone, UNLV repeatedly found holes in the scheme and exploited it for easy scores through the lane and along the baseline. And when Long Beach State attempted to collapse on the ballhandlers near the basket, UNLV made three of five three-point attempts in the half.

UNLV took a 22-12 lead with 8:55 to play before halftime on a driving layup by guard Ben Sanders over center Marcus Johnson. For most of the half, Long Beach State’s offense consisted of launching long jump shots and three-pointers--most of which didn’t go in. Long Beach State made four three-pointers in 11 first-half attempts and five of 13 in the second half.

Long Beach State faced another big problem when Jackson was assessed his third personal foul with 6:28 left in the first half. Jackson began the game second in the Big West in rebounding, and he is Long Beach State’s best interior defender. Greenberg removed Jackson from the game, but the coach couldn’t afford to keep Jackson out long because of UNLV’s dominance inside.

He gambled by bringing Jackson back about two minutes later, and it paid off. His defensive presence helped Long Beach State cut into UNLV’s lead.