No. 18 UNLV beats Northern Arizona
Tuesday - 11/13/2012, 12:53am ET
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Anthony Bennett scored 22 points to lead five players in double figures and No. 18 UNLV won its season opener, 92-54 over Northern Arizona on Monday night.
Reserve Bryce Dejean-Jones added 15 points for the Runnin' Rebels (1-0) while Anthony Marshall and Katin Reinhardt had 14 points apiece and Savon Goodman added 11.
It was a huge turnaround for a team that survived a scare in its lone exhibition game, an 81-80 overtime win over Dixie State.
The 92 points were the highest point total for the Runnin' Rebels in a season-opener since 2005-06 when it opened with a 108-73 win over Long Beach State. UNLV extended its home winning streak to 19 regular-season games, which dates to the end of 2010-11.
UNLV extended its NCAA Division I record for consecutive games with a 3-pointer. Since the 3-point field goal was adopted by the NCAA in 1986-87, UNLV has converted at least one in all 841 games played.
Dewayne Russell had 16 points for Northern Arizona (0-1).
UNLV opened the game with runs of 8-0 and 21-7 to control it from the outset. After the Lumberjacks erased the 14-point deficit with a 16-8 run over a nearly 6-minute stretch, the Rebels responded by closing the first half on a 16-0 run to take a 45-23 lead. Northern Arizona was held scoreless over the final 4:45 of the first half.
The Runnin' Rebels hit 50 percent of their shots from the field (16 of 32) in the first half, including going 5 of 14 from beyond the 3-point line.
UNLV hit 33 of its 66 shots (.500), including 9 of 27 from beyond the arc.
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