The Sports Xchange
Nov 23, 2017
UNLV's trio of Jovan Mooring, Jordan Johnson and Brandon McCoy outscored Utah's entire team in an 85-58 triumph Wednesday night in the MGM Main Event championship at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
McCoy, a touted 7-foot-1 center, had a career-high 26 points with 17 rebounds. Johnson finished with 20 points and six assists, and Mooring added 19 points. The trio made 23 of 41 shots from the field. The Rebels (5-0) shot 50 percent from the floor overall.
Utah (4-1) made 21 of 60 field-goal attempts, including 2 of 20 from 3-point range. Donnie Tillman led the Utes with 14 points, and Tyler Rawson added 10.
UNLV ended the first half on an 8-2 run and scored the first six points of the second half to build a 49-33 lead with 17:55 remaining in regulation.
The Rebels exposed Utah's interior defense with McCoy getting a dunk and Johnson two layups to start the second half.
UNLV, which won the rebounding battle 46-30, outscored Utah 46-34 in the paint.
Utah's top two scorers -- forward David Collette (13.8 points a game) and guard Sedrick Barefield (13.0) -- were kept in check. Collette had nine points and Barefield scored only two on 1-of-8 shooting from the field (0-of-5 from 3-point range).
Collette had only two points until he made a layup with 14:25 left. Barefield did not make his first shot until 6:22 remained, cutting UNLV's lead to 71-49.
Utah started the first 10 minutes of the second half making only 4 of 17 shots, including misses on all five 3-point attempts. UNLV, which plays its home games at nearby Thomas & Mack Arena, led 65-41 at that point.