RUNNIN’ REBEL BASKETBALL DIRECTOR OF MEDIA RELATIONS / MEN’S BASKETBALL CONTACT: ANDY GROSSMAN UNLV SPORTS INFORMATION • 45O5 MARYLAND PARKWAY • LAS VEGAS • NV • 89154-OOO4 OFFICE: (7O2) 895-3995 • FAX: (7O2) 895-O989 • CELL: (7O2) 63O-3949 EMAIL: [email protected] SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 23 GAME NOTES (2) - NEVADA, RENO 2OO3-O4 SCHEDULE/RESULTS MON., NOV. 24 NEVADA, RENO AT UNLV 7:3O PM PST Record: 1-0 Home: 1-0 Game at Thomas & Mack Center (18,500), Las Vegas MWC: 0-0 Away: 0-0 Game may be heard live on ESPN 920 AM in Las Vegas and online off a link at vs. Top 25: 0-0 Neutral: 0-0 UNLVRebels.com (Ken Korach and Glen Gondrezick call the action) Date Opponent W/L Time TV There is no television for this game 11/10 L.A. STARS % W, 100-90 --- 11/15 HOUSTON S’STARS % W, 95-63 --- Fresh off its season-opening victory over Delaware State on Friday, the UNLV men’s basketball team 11/21 DELAWARE STATE W, 65-59 --- will host intrastate rival Nevada, Reno, for its second game of the season and second game of its 11/24 NEVADA, RENO 7:30 PM --- season-opening four-game homestand on Mon., Nov. 24 at 7:30 p.m. at the Thomas & Mack Center. 11/26 WESTERN ILLINOIS 7:30 PM --- 11/29 CALIFORNIA 7:30 PM --- THE UNLV RUNNIN’ REBELS (1-O, O-O MWC) 12/3 at USC 7:30 PM FSN2 12/6 at Loyola Marymount 7:00 PM ERT UNLV is in year three of the Spoonhour Era and opened the season with a 65- 12/13 at Stanford 3:00 PM FSN 59 win over Delaware State on Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center. The 12/18 NORTHERN ARIZONA 7:30 PM --- Runnin’ Rebels return three starters from last season’s 21-11 team in 6-8 12/20 ALA. VS. ORE. @ 7:00 PM ESPN2 senior forward J.K. Edwards, 6-2 senior guard Demetrius Hunter and 6-8 12/20 AUBURN @ 9:30 PM ESPN senior forward James Peters. (Edwards is suspended for five more games, 12/28 BRADLEY 7:30 PM --- 12/30 MONTANA 7:30 PM --- while Peters has to miss the next two) Also returning off the 2002-03 roster are 6-9 sophomore 1/7 OCCIDENTAL 7:30 PM --- forward Louis Amundson (sat out 2002-03 with a medical redshirt), 6-7 junior forward Odartey 1/12 UTAH * 9:00 PM ESPN Blankson (redshirted in 2002-03 after transferring from Marquette) and 6-2 freshman guard Jonathan 1/17 at San Diego State * 12:00 PM ESPN+ Osborne (used 2002-03 as a medical redshirt year). UNLV welcomes six fresh faces to its roster in 1/24 at Wyoming * 3:00 PM SW 6-7 junior guard/forward Romel Beck, 5-10 junior guard Jerel Blassingame, 6-6 junior guard/forward 1/26 at Colorado State * 6:00 PM ERT Andy Hannan, 6-0 freshman guard Darrell Jenkins, 6-2 freshman guard Michael Umeh and 6-3 1/31 NEW MEXICO * 7:30 PM SW freshman guard John Winston. Overall, UNLV has eight players on its 12-man roster that didn’t see 2/2 AIR FORCE * 9:00 PM ESPN 2/7 at BYU * 12:00 PM ESPN+ any playing time for the 2002-03 Runnin’ Rebels. 2/9 at Utah * 6:00 PM ERT 2/15 at Missouri 12:30 PM ABC THE NEVADA, RENO WOLF PACK (1-1, O-O WAC) 2/17 SAN DIEGO STATE * 7:30 PM SW Nevada, Reno comes to Las Vegas after advancing to the second round of the 2/21 COLORADO STATE * 7:30 PM SW Preseason NIT. The Wolf Pack opened the season with a 69-49 home win over 2/23 WYOMING * 9:00 PM ESPN 2/28 at Air Force * 3:00 PM SW Vermont last Monday and lost at top-ranked Connecticut 93-79 on Wednesday. 3/1 at New Mexico * 6:00 PM SW UNR returns six letterwinners and four starters off last year’s team that finished 3/6 BYU * 12:30 PM ABC 18-14 overall and tied for fourth in the Western Athletic Conference with an 11- 3/11-13 at MWC Tournament ^ TBA TBA 7 conference record. The Wolf Pack have three players averaging in double figures in scoring in 6- 6 junior guard Kirk Snyder (19.5 ppg), 6-0 senior guard Todd Okeson (13.5) and 6-5 freshman guard KEY Marcelus Kemp (12.5). 6-9 senior forward Sean Paul leads the team in rebounding (5.0 rpg), while Home games in BOLD CAPS % - exhibition games Okeson is the team’s assist leader (5.0 apg). Head coach Trent Johnson is in his fifth year at UNR and @ - Las Vegas Showdown * - MWC games ^ - at Pepsi Center (Denver) SW - SportsWest TV as a head coach and has a career record of 55-66 (.455). ESPN+ - ESPN Reg. TV FSN - Fox Sports Net ERT - ESPN Regional at UNLV SERIES HISTORY This will be the 65th all-time meeting between UNLV and UNR in men’s basketball as UNLV holds a 48- quick facts 16 series advantage. The last time the two schools met was last season on Dec. 4 in Reno as UNLV held on for an 82-80 victory off the heroics of Marcus Banks. UNLV has won the last two meetings Location: Las Vegas, NV 89154 overall and has won the last three meetings between the two teams in Las Vegas. The last time UNLV Founded: 1957 lost to UNR in Las Vegas was on Jan. 29, 1996, 71-64. UNLV is 27-4 all-time at home vs. UNR and is Enrollment: 25,000 Nickname: Runnin’ Rebels 138-43 all-time against teams that currently make up the Western Athletic Conference. Colors: Scarlet & Gray President: Dr. Carol C. Harter EDWARDS AND PETERS SUSPENDED Dir. of Athletics: Mike Hamrick Seniors J.K. Edwards and James Peters will be forced to miss the beginning of the season for their Conference: Mountain West involvement in the unauthorized use of a UNLV phone personal identification number. Edwards will Arena: Thomas & Mack Center Capacity: 18,500 miss the season’s first six games (five more games), while Peters will miss the first three (two more Record in Arena: 275-51 (.844)/21st year games). All-Time Record: 955-373 (.719)/46th year All-Time vs. MWC: 107-54 (.665) LAST TIME OUT - VS. DELAWARE STATE Head Coach: Charlie Spoonhour Odartey Blankson had 13 points and eight rebounds Friday night as UNLV beat Delaware State 65- UNLV Record: 43-22 (.662)/3rd season Career Record: 362-193 (.652)/19th seas. 59 in the season opener for both schools. UNLV led by 16 points at the half, but Delaware State 2002-03 Record: 21-11/8-6 MWC (T-3rd) freshman Jahsha Bluntt connected on three second half 3-pointers, the last of which cut the Hornets’ deficit to 59-53 with 3:23 to play. Louis Amundson scored four of his 12 points late to ice ON THE WEB the game for UNLV. Romel Beck also had 12 points for UNLV as the Rebels shot 55 percent for the game. Delaware State had four players in double figures, led by Bluntt’s 15 points. Aaron Matthews UNLVRebels.com • UNLVtickets.com and Carlos Hawkins added 14 for the Hornets and Miles Davis had 10. UNLV, behind 7-6 two TheMWC.com minutes into the game, used a 13-2 run over the next eight minutes to take a double-digit lead and never trailed again. 1 RUNNIN’ REBEL BASKETBALL ESPN / USA TODAY COACHES POLL FIRST HALF SUCCESS Against Delaware State, UNLV shot 65.2 percent from the field in the first half (15-of-23) and took Nov. 6, 2003 a 16-point lead into the break. The Runnin’ Rebels cooled off considerably in the second half Rank Team Record Pts Prev. shooting 45.8 percent and being outscored by 10 points. Overall, UNLV shot 55.3 percent for the 1. Connecticut 23-10 762 11 game and won by six points. 2. Duke 26-7 697 9 3. Michigan State 22-13 677 18 DOUBLE-FIGURE SCORING 4. Arizona 28-4 638 5 5. Kansas 30-8 589 2 Against Delaware State, four Runnin’ Rebels scored in double figures (Odartey Blankson - 13, 6. Missouri 22-11 560 22 Romel Beck - 12, Louis Amundson - 12, Michael Umeh - 10) and one other player scored eight (Jerel 7. Syracuse 30-5 533 1 Blassingame). Last season, UNLV had only seven games in which four players scored 10 or more 8. Florida 25-8 507 16 points in the same game and had five players in double figures only once. 9. Kentucky 32-4 498 4 10. North Carolina 19-13 493 NR DEBUTS 11. Texas 26-7 461 3 12. Gonzaga 24-9 403 NR Against Delaware State, six players made their debuts in a Runnin’ Rebel uniform. Odartey Blankson 13. Illinois 25-7 399 13t sat out last season after transferring from Marquette, while junior college transfers Romel Beck, 14. Wisconsin 24-8 392 13t Jerel Blassingame and Andy Hannan all suited up for the first time in Scarlet & Gray. Freshmen 15. Oklahoma 27-7 353 7 Michael Umeh and John Winston also played their first UNLV game and Louis Amundson played for 16. Louisville 25-7 291 19 the first time since the 2001-02 season becuase of a medical redshirt last year. The only player who 17. Stanford 24-9 258 20 18.