A milestone day for Wink

Any fear of an Arizona hangover for the Runnin’ Rebels was quickly erased in the first half Saturday afternoon against visiting Tennessee-Martin as UNLV (8-3) jumped out to a 44-16 halftime lead and coasted home to a 74-48 victory.

Junior guard Wink Adams led the way scoring 19 of his game-high 20 points before intermission as Rebel coach Lon Kruger emptied his bench early and often against the Skyhawks (5-7) from the Ohio Valley Conference.

Adams, who connected on 7 of 11 shots, including 3 of 4 from 3-point range, now has scored an even 1,000 points in his UNLV career. He seemed to single-handily make sure the Runnin’ Rebels put Wednesday night’s disappointing 52-49 loss to Arizona behind them by scoring 10 of UNLV’s first 19 points.
(br> “I wasn’t even thinking about it,” Adams said of becoming the 33rd player in school history to hit the 1,000-point barrier in his career. “I was just playing.

“I feel like I’m in a real good rhythm right now. I’m getting the shots I want (and) and putting them in. … Its feeling real good right now. I’m playing with more confidence which is what I need to do.”

Adams, who got off to a slow start this season shooting the ball, is averaging 17.2 points in his last four games and has connected on 9 of his 17 3-point attempts in that span.

“Wink seems to be settling into a good comfort zone,” Kruger said.

Not be overlooked was also the defensive job Adams did on Skyhawk guard Lester Hudson who entered the game third in the nation in scoring with a 26.4 average. Hudson finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds but had just five points on 2 of 9 shooting in the first half before Kruger emptied his bench. Adams’ 23 minutes were the most of any UNLV starter.

Every Rebel who dressed played at least five minutes including redshirt freshman guard Troy Cage who had two points and two turnovers in eight minutes of action in his college debut. Cage underwent knee surgery back in mid-October.

“We got a chance to see a lot of different combinations and a lot of young guys in the second half and I think that was good for their experience,” Kruger said.

Sophomore center Matt Shaw (13 points, 7 rebounds) and junior forward Joe Darger (11 points, 6 rebounds) also scored in double figures for the Rebels and senior point guard Curtis Terry had nine assists and two steals in 21 minutes.

UNLV returns to action on Dec. 28 against Kennesaw State in the Duel in the Desert Classic at the Thomas & Mack Center.