May 7, 2003

LAS VEGAS - UNLV men's basketball player Ernest Turner has requested and been granted his official release from the program, Runnin' Rebel head coach Charlie Spoonhour announced Wednesday.

Turner, a 6-foot-2, 195-pound guard from Magnolia, N.J., averaged 2.5 points per game this past season as a sophomore. He appeared in 30 games, started one and played an average of 12.8 minutes per contest in 2002-03.

"Ernest is an exceptionally fine young man," Spoonhour said. "We have appreciated the opportunity to work with him the last two years and wish him only the best in the future."

Turner, who graduated from Sterling High School in Magnolia, also appeared in 20 games as a freshman at UNLV in 2001-02. He averaged 2.3 ppg his freshman year in 6.3 minutes per game.

For his career at UNLV, Turner played in 50 games and averaged 2.4 ppg. He scored a career-high 15 points last season vs. Tennessee-Martin on Dec. 17.

It is not known where Turner intends to transfer.