RENO - University of Nevada men's basketball forward James Bayless, a Las Vegas native, said the University of Nevada-Las Vegas never recruited him out of Eldorado High. Perhaps, they should have.
Bayless scored a career-high 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting as the Wolf Pack snapped a three-game losing streak to their intrastate rival, beating the Runnin' Rebels 80-71 on Saturday night at the Lawlor Events Center.
The raucous pro-Nevada crowd of 9,052 was the 10th largest ever at Lawlor. UNLV (3-4) has a habit of packing the stands as its been involved in six of the arena's 10 largest crowds.
"That was sweet," said Wolf Pack guard Donny Guerinoni, who finished with 13 points. "It's always good to beat your rival. We definitely had a burning desire to play well against UNLV."
Growing up, Bayless admitted he followed the Rebels closely, especially in the early 90s, when they made it to two straight Final Fours, including a national championship in 1992. He looked up to former UNLV players like Larry Johnson and Stacey Augmon. But the 2000-2001 Rebels, though, are much different from those teams.
"Those guys that played for UNLV were my heroes growing up," Bayless said. "And to now play against UNLV is great. But those guys aren't L.J. and all others."
Trailing 34-28 at half-time, the Wolf Pack (5-1) started the second half on a 10-2 run to take a 38-36 lead, its first of the game. But the Rebels' Kaspars Kambala, a Wooden Award Candidate, answered back to score six of his 15 points in the next two minutes to put UNLV back on top 44-42.
"Kambala was easily the best big man on the court," said Wolf Pack guard Terrance Green. "But collectively, we moved three or four guys on him on defense and I think we wore him down."
Green, who was only 2-of-10 from the field, didn't play most of the first half after picking up two quick fouls. He was scoreless in the first but came back to score all 16 of his points in the second half. Green also showed no ill-effects from a sprained ankle suffered last Sunday in Nevada's 61-56 loss to Portland State.
"The Portland State game was just a fluke, it was just one of those games," said Green, the Wolf Pack's leading scorer. "But we showed tonight that we are not a one-man team. Our team played well in every aspect of the game."
Four different Nevada players finished in double figures, including Andre Hazel, who came off the bench to score 11 points. Hazel also dished out five assists while turning the ball over once, easily his best overall performance of the season. The Wolf Pack's 18-9 assist to turnover ratio was their best this season. The Rebels committed 21 turnovers.
"It was a real fun experience for me," Hazel said. "As a freshman, I didn't understand the rivalry. Now I do."
UNLV, who holds a 46-16 overall series record with Nevada, tried to make a comeback after falling behind in the second half. But Bayless's lay-up with 8:41 remaining gave the Wolf Pack a 56-54 lead. Nevada never lost the lead the rest of the game, eventually building an 11-point lead with 15 seconds left in the game on a pair of Bayless free throws.
"It's bittersweet," said Bayless about the win. "I haven't been happy with the way I've been playing lately and what better time to come back than against UNLV."
Bayless said that when he came out of high school in 1999, Rebel coach Bill Bayno and his staff didn't heavily recruit any local players, including Kevin Gaines, who went to Michigan.
"They didn't have one player from Las Vegas on their team, so that's funny," Bayless mockingly said.
The Wolf Pack plays Montana State, 7 p.m. Monday in Bozeman, Mont.
