Nov. 19, 2008

Final Stats | Postgame Press Conference (Video) | Radio Highlights (Audio)

LAS VEGAS (AP) - UNLV's DeShawn Mitchell had 14 points Tuesday night and Rene Rougeau added 12 points to lead the Rebels to a 73-48 victory against Texas-Pan American.

The game featured four ties and five lead changes in the first half, with UNLV only making 35 percent of its shots. But the Rebels shot 42 percent in second half to outscore Texas-Pan American 46-24 and win convincingly.

UNLV (2-0) opened the second half on a 9-2 run to build its first double digit lead. Freshman guard Oscar Bellfield keyed the outburst with five straight points.

The Rebels had nine players score at least five points, including nine from Darris Santee and seven each from Kendall Wallace and Mareceo Rutledge.

UNLV missed 16 of its first 20 shots and trailed 22-19 with four minutes to play in the first half. But Rougeau hit a short jumper and Wallace connected on a 3-pointer to spark an 8-0 run as the Rebels never trailed again.

Texas-Pan American (1-1) got 12 points from Emmanuel Jones and 10 from Ben Smith.