National Basketball Association
BOXSCORE | RECAP
UNLV 89, Canisius 74
When: 10:00 PM ET, Saturday, December 22, 2012
Where: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Officials: # Rick Batsell, # Dan Chrisman, # Kipp Kissinger
Attendance: 14533

No. 18 UNLV 89, Canisius 74: The Runnin Rebels' Canadian duo of Anthony Bennett and Khem Birch combined for 41 points and 15 rebounds as host UNLV rolled in a non-conference game.

Birch, playing in his third game after transferring from Pitt, had 20 points on 7-for-8 shooting and added six blocks as the Rebels (11-1) won for the ninth straight time. Bennett, the freshman star, flashed his inside and outside game hitting three 3-pointers to go with several dunks on the way to a team-high 21 points.

Billy Baron led Canisius (8-3) with 30 points. He had 18 at the half and four of the Golden Griffins' 13 3-pointers.

UNLV took a 12-11 lead on a jumper by Katin Reinhardt and never trailed again. The Runnin' Rebels opened up an 11-point lead soon after and led 46-39 at the half getting 14 points from Bennett and 13 from Birch.

Canisius, which had its two-game winning streak come to an end, cut the deficit to 57-54 with 12:52 to play but UNLV responded with six straight points in a 20-6 run. Justin Hawkins had eight points in the decisive spurt.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Canisius fell to 0-2 on the season against ranked teams. It also lost to Syracuse. The Golden Griffins haven't beaten a ranked team since 1994. ... Canisius has 74 3-pointers in its last six games. ... Reinhardt finished with 14 points for UNLV. Bryce Dejean-Jones and Hawkins both had a dozen.
Top Game Performances
 
Canisius   UNLV
Billy Baron 30 Scoring Anthony Bennett 21
Billy Baron 6 Assists Anthony Marshall 8
Chris Manhertz 7 Rebounds Khem Birch 8
Billy Baron 6 Free Throws Made Khem Birch 6
Jordan Heath 3 Steals Katin Reinhardt 3
N/A Blocks Khem Birch 6
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Canisius 74 40.3 13-29 7-8 12 25 0 8 12
UNLV 89 59.6 6-13 15-20 24 33 13 8 16