It was a tale of two halves for UNLV.
Chace Stanback scored 11 of his 13 points in the first half and Anthony Marshall poured in 14 of his 19 in the second to lift the No. 19 Runnin' Rebels (15-2) to their sixth straight win, 74-69 win over Hawaii on Saturday night.
Despite shooting just 38 percent in the first half, UNLV held a 35-28 lead at the intermission. The second half saw the Rebels shoot 52 percent from the field, while the Rainbow Warriors (8-6) were just 34 percent shooting from the field for the game.
''We really have the luxury of not having to rely on one guy to carry us through the whole game,'' said Marshall, who also grabbed 13 rebounds. ''Chace did it in the first half and then Mike Moser, myself, as well as some others carried us down the stretch. We're a ball club with a lot of veterans who have been playing for a long time now.''
Moser finished with 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Rebels.
Despite several runs by Hawaii that brought it within a basket in the second half, UNLV coach Dave Rice was pleased with the end result.
''Coming in, we knew that this would be a game that would be a tremendous challenge for us. Hawaii has played very well of late,'' Rice said. ''They did a good job controlling us on offense. They did a good job with their transition defense, but it's a very good win. I told our guys after the game that we certainly could have done a lot better, but I'm proud of our effort and to be able to leave the island with a win is a good accomplishment for our team.''
Hawaii took an early 5-1 lead before UNLV pulled ahead for good with an 8-0 run, capped by a Stanback's free-throw line jumper with 12:42 left in the first half.
The Rebels led 20-10 at the 8:36 mark in the first half after Moser hit a 3-pointer.
Hawaii cut the deficit to within a possession several times in the second half, but each time UNLV was able to answer.
UNLV senior forward Brice Massambra was helped off the court early in the second half after he caught an inadvertent forearm to the face.
The Rebels now lead the all-time series, 22-9, including 10-7 in games in Honolulu. UNLV has won the last five meetings.
Hawaii coach Gib Arnold lamented after the final buzzer.
''I really, really wanted that one. I thought that was one we could get,'' Arnold said. ''Give UNLV credit, I thought defensively, they were really good. They get a lot of credit for their offense, but they're actually a very good defensive team.''
NOTES: Hawaii, which had won three straight and six of its last seven, is now 1-1 against ranked opponents this season. The Rainbow Warriors beat then-No. 14 Xavier, 84-82, on Dec. 23. ... It was the first of three consecutive road games for the Rebels, who visit Cal State-Bakersfield on Thursday. This is the Rebels' best start since the 1992-93 season, when they began 16-2.
