Rebels find their D down the block from campus

LAS VEGAS — Just because they were one of the last ones to be invited to the big party doesn’t mean UNLV didn’t belong in the high-rent Players Era Championship.After all, it was being staged in their neighborhood, about a mile away from campus at the MGM Grand Garden. So they certainly didn’t want to be left standing in the corner of the room while the likes of Houston, Alabama, Gonzaga and Tennessee hogged the spotlight.No, the Runnin’ Rebels made their presence felt, though not the way one might expect. Josh Pastner’s team, which has been scoring points by the bushel despite playing shorthanded, decided to do the opposite Monday against Maryland. They dug in and defended like crazy.They played zone. They helped each other in the paint and on the boards. They ran out to the perimeter with hands up and arms extended, trying to alter the Terrapins’ 3-point tries.And somehow, it worked. At least for a while.But they play 40 minutes at this level for a reason and whether it was the lack of healthy bodies catching up with them or the fact Buzz Williams’ guys figured things out, the Terps took control over the final 20 minutes, eventually turning a 30-27 halftime deficit into a 74-67 victory. Maryland limited the Rebels to just two made field goals over a nine-minute-plus span in the second half.“It’s a make-and-miss game and we didn’t make enough shots,” said Pastner, whose team dropped to 3-3 and will face Alabama at 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Grand Garden. “We had good pace. We had some great looks. We just didn’t put the ball in the basket.”UNLV tried to battle minus forward Jacob Bannarbie, who was unable to go Monday. Ladji Dembele did manage to go and the 6-foot-8 junior helped give UNLV some good minutes defensively.But when they needed to find ways to score with the game still within their grasp, the Rebels were unable to consistently make shots, be it from the floor, the perimeter or the foul line. You shoot just 8 of 27 from 3-point land and only 68% from the line, it’s hard to win.As a result, the 67 points were a season-low for UNLV and the Rebels will be facing a physical, defensive unit Tuesday in the Crimson Tide, which will no doubt be looking to bounce back after falling to Gonzaga 95-85 in the first game of Monday’s evening session.“This is a great tournament and we’re really proud to be part of it,” Pastner said. “Our guys fought and completed and at the end, I think our numbers caught up with us.”Upsets were not the order of the day as the Players Era had nine games spread over two venues. Oh, there were some close calls like Syracuse taking Houston to overtime before falling to the Cougars, 78-74. Or Iowa State nipping St. John’s 83-82 at Michelob Ultra Arena, making former UNLV coach TJ Otzelberger a winner over Rick Pitino, who considered for a brief moment being the Rebels’ coach before passing on the opportunity more than a couple of decades ago.But Day 1 of the Players Era also produced some lopsided affairs. Tennessee may have been the most impressive team on either court Monday as the Volunteers wiped the MGM floor with Rutgers, 85-60. And Michigan wasn’t far behind as the Wolverines humbled San Diego State 94-54 at Mandalay Bay.And if you’re wondering how the crowds inside the Grand Garden were, "lacking" might be the appropriate term. The day session attendance was announced as 4,628 which included Kansas’ 71-61 win over Notre Dame and the Houston-Syracuse contest. The night session drew just 3,581. But the Players Era folks aren’t fretting over empty seats. They want people tuning in on TNT and its sister networks. That’s what’s helping foot the bill — TV money and sponsorships. If they wanted to fill the Grand Garden and MUA, they’d charge what the Aces charge for their WNBA games — $20-$35.And while we’re seeing some college hoop traditionalists wringing their hands over the Players Era relegating longtime holiday events like the Maui Invitational to second-class status, let us remember why this event exists. It’s about money, a business proposition to help the best schools find creative ways to increase their Name Image and Likeness coffers. Each of the participating 18 schools is receiving $1 million and the champions will receive an additional million bucks.In fact, the tournament, which began a year ago with eight teams and grew to 18 this year, is planning to go to 32 next year. So this event isn’t going away any time soon.The Rebels certainly did not embarrass themselves Monday. Getting nine points off the bench from Al Green to support Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn’s team-high 17 points was a positive. And forcing 20 Maryland turnovers was a big plus.But it wasn’t enough. And Pastner even drew a technical foul ion the first half as he was barking at Kimani Hamilton for committing a silly foul only for the referees to think his ire was directed at them.On a night where his team gave great effort but ran out of gas, he’ll live with that bad call.