Bench play key component in first victory
Hamilton, Beck provide offensive firepower in rout
Three takeaways from UNLV’S 7251 win over UC Riverside on Tuesday night at the Thomas & Mack Center: and whatever players we feel can contribute to the victory will be the guys that play,” Menzies said. “Obviously, (Hamilton) was playing well so he had a chance to get some more minutes, but it wasn’t really the hot hand. I thought he did a pretty good job defensively. He’s still got to get better, but he was pretty active and caused a couple turnovers. So he did well there and then obviously making some shots helps, too.”
Beck, the only other Rebel in double figures, made both of his 3-point attempts and finished 4-for-4 shooting with 11 points. He had seven points in the first 7:30 to help spark the offense.
Seniors help limit mistakes
Turnovers were a massive reason the Rebels dropped the season-opener to Loyola Marymount on Friday as they coughed up the ball 24 times.
The seniors were the biggest culprits. Noah Robotham, Shakur Juiston and Kris Clyburn combined for 16 turnovers with Robotham the worst offender with six in his UNLV debut.
The Rebels committed 13 turnovers on Tuesday with that trio responsible for just six.
Menzies isn’t satisfied.
“Our overall goal for every game is to stay under 10 or 11, so the short answer is, ‘No,’ ” Menzies said when asked if he was pleased. “I was content with the significant improvement, so it’s going in the right direction. But we still have to get better at it.”
Juiston needs to take next step
After a spectacular junior campaign, Juiston was expected to take on a much bigger role this season.
It just hasn’t clicked for him yet. Juiston went 2-for-7 from the field and finished with six points and six rebounds in 28 minutes after a 12-point, seven-rebound effort on Friday.
He’s shooting 39 percent through two games after making 64 percent of his shots and averaging 14.6 points last season. It was expected he would be more assertive in the offense after frontcourt mate Brandon Mccoy and his 17 points per game left UNLV to turn pro after just one season.
Juiston has always shied away from a lead role but is more than capable of being that type of presence.
Contact Adam Hill at ahill@ reviewjournal.com or 702-277-8028. Follow @Adamhilllvrj on Twitter.