The UNLV men's basketball team used an 18-3 second-half run and blocked 12 shots on its way to a 60-59 victory before a crowd of 12,582 on Friday night (Nov. 14) at the Thomas & Mack Center.
The season opener for both schools was also their first-ever meeting. The Runnin' Rebels compete in the Mountain West Conference, while the Eagles are members of the Ohio Valley Conference.
"I'm always disappointed with a loss, but still very proud of our young men," Head Coach Sean Woods. "They absolutely battled for 40 minutes, and we literally came up one basket short. It's a long season, and I'm confident we will have good results over time if we play like we did tonight."
UNLV held Morehead State to 31 percent (21-of-68) from the floor, including just 22 percent (7-of-32) in the second half. The Eagles missed 13 consecutive attempts during UNLV's second-half surge.
Morehead State was also whistled for 11 more fouls, which led to 13 more free-throw attempts for UNLV. The Runnin' Rebels tallied a 42-38 rebounding edge, but MSU was +7 on the offensive end.
The Eagles only committed two first-half turnovers and six for the night. The turnaround comes after 22 miscues in their only exhibition game this season. UNLV registered just two steals as a result.
Freshman Rashad Vaughn recorded a game-high 26 points for UNLV, while sophomore Christian Wood contributed 12. Vaughn canned 8-of-18 overall and was just 2-of-8 from long range, but knocked down a trifecta from the corner to break a tie game with just over one minute remaining.
Wood also yanked down 12 rebounds for a double-double. Senior Cody Dollin distributed a game-high seven assists for UNLV, while freshman Goodluck Okonoboh rejected seven shots in the tilt.
Senior Angelo Warner paced Morehead State with 21 points, while junior Brent Arrington added 12. Senior Karam Mashour pulled down a team-best eight rebounds for the Eagles, while senior Kareem Storey was credited with a team-high five assists. MSU used 10 of the 11 players it dressed.
Morehead State led for more than 17 minutes and opened its largest lead of 11 points by 17:56 on the clock in the second stanza. The Eagles drilled 8-of-10 field-goal tries during a 10-0 first-half run.
"UNLV is a quality opponent, and the Thomas & Mack Center is a tough place to play," Woods said. "We fought hard tonight, but the eventual goal is to find ways to win games like this. That's part of getting this program to the next level, and that's been my plan since the day I took this job."
Morehead State will fly home on Saturday and get ready for five contests in seven days. The Eagles open the stretch by hosting NAIA foe Cincinnati Christian on Monday (Nov. 17). MSU then returns to the road for five straight as it faces Cincinnati, Louisiana Tech, Presbyterian, American and Marshall.
"We have a really busy week ahead," Woods added. "We still have things to work on, but we'll be OK. I really like this team. We were playing three guys short tonight (Jalen Courtney, Corban Collins and Marquel Willis) and we still have new players who are getting adjusted to how we play."
