THREE-MENDOUS!

It’s fair to say that Kevin Kruger’s ankle problems are a thing of the past. Kruger led an impressive UNLV 3-point shooting barrage in Monday night’s 103-56 rout of Norfolk State (1-7), hitting six in a row in the first half, as the Runnin’ Rebels increased their win streak to five straight with the victory in the Duel in the Desert Tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Sophomore guard Wink Adams also was a perfect 4-of-4 on treys en route to a game-high 20 points. UNLV hit its first seven 3-pointers while jumping out to a 29-7 lead in the first seven minutes of action.

The Rebels (9-2) made 12-of-15 treys in the first half while building a 55-28 halftime lead and made 17-of-25 3-pointers (68.0 percent) for the game.

Kruger, who also had a game-high seven assists and two steals in just 21 minutes of action, had a chance at seven straight 3-pointers but an off-balanced attempt late in the first half went in-and-out.

“The six (3-pointers) in a row might be (a personal best),” Kevin Kruger said. “I had a couple of six (3-point games) at ASU. But by far it was my best here.”

“When you make shots it gets a little contagious,” UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. “When you’re making shots, that picks up your energy level.”

Kruger said he believed part of the reason for his team’s shooting success was its passing.

“We did a good job of making a lot of extra passes,” Kruger said. “That one extra pass turned down an okay shot for an even better shot. I think as a result we had some really high percentage plays, and guys stepped up and knocked them down.”

The 17 3-pointers were four short of the school single-game mark of 21 set in 1990 against Nevada while Kruger’s six 3-pointers were four short of the school single-game mark of 10 set by Freddie Banks in 1987 against Indiana in the Final Four.

UNLV hosts South Florida (7-2), which was upset by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 69-63, in Monday’s opener, on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m.