Sports
Miles' career-high 20 points lift UNLV past Samford 88-79
Cam Miles scored a career-high 20 points and UNLV held Samford to 25% shooting from 3-point range in an 88-79 win Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center. The Rebels improved to 2-0 with five players in double figures for the second straight game.
UNLV men's basketball coach Josh Pastner had a simple explanation for his team's 88-79 victory over Samford on Saturday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack Center: defense at the 3-point line.
Samford, which Pastner called "a great 3-point shooting team," made just 5 of 20 attempts from beyond the arc (25%) as the Rebels improved to 2-0 on the young season.
Cam Miles, a sophomore transfer from Florida State, led UNLV with a career-high 20 points, hitting 4 of 9 from 3-point range and all eight of his free-throw attempts. Tyrin Jones added 17 points, five rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots, while Sebastian Mack chipped in 17 points and five rebounds.
The Rebels trailed by eight points early but rallied to take a 45-40 halftime lead. Samford tied the game at 72 with 7:45 remaining, but UNLV responded with six straight points â a basket by Jackson Kiss and two by Mack â to go ahead 78-72 with 6:01 left.
Miles drilled a 3-pointer with 5:12 to play to push the lead to 81-74, and Samford never got closer than five points the rest of the way. Another Miles 3-pointer with 1:25 remaining gave UNLV its largest lead at 88-78.
Dontrez Williams and Kiss each scored 10 points for the Rebels. Kiss, the Mountain West's preseason freshman of the year, made all four of his field-goal attempts and added six rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.
UNLV shot 50% from the field (29 of 58) and made 25 of 32 free throws (78.1%). The Rebels committed eight turnovers while forcing 11, outscoring Samford 21-8 in points off turnovers.
Cooper Noard led Samford (1-1) with 20 points, including three 3-pointers. Cade Norris had 17 points and five assists, Will Shaver posted 14 points and 10 rebounds, and Isaiah Campbell-Finch scored 14 points.
The Rebels have had five players score in double figures in each of their first two games. UNLV returns to action next week as it continues nonconference play.