LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Northern Arizona coach Jack Murphy knew his homecoming to Las Vegas could be a forgettable one.
Murphy was a UNLV student manager during the 1997-98 season, when the Rebels won the Western Athletic Conference tournament.
On Monday, his Lumberjacks were playing the 18th-ranked Runnin' Rebels in front of 18,187 in UNLV's home opener.
Besides a few brief moments in the first half, Northern Arizona's night was one not to remember as the Lumberjacks lost 92-54.
Freshman Dewayne Russell led the Lumberjacks (0-2) with 16 points, while Gabe Rogers had 13.
UNLV escaped its lone exhibition game with an 81-80 overtime win against Dixie State last Wednesday.
"We knew the worst thing in the world for us was the way the Dixie State game went for them," said Murphy, who played at nearby Durango H.S. "I knew they would come out and put a wall on us and that's what they did. After watching (UNLV) on tape, this is a completely different team. They have a lot of grown men and big players. That is a strong team.
“This does not derail what we are doing,” said Murphy. “We had the deck stacked against us tonight. A lot of guys played out of position and were put in new positions we have not asked them to play in practice. They responded and we learned a lot about our guys. They played and competed, getting on the floor and made UNLV work.”
Anthony Bennett scored 22 points to lead five UNLV players in double figures.
Reserve Bryce Dejean-Jones added 15 points for the Runnin' Rebels (1-0) while Anthony Marshall and Katin Reinhardt had 14 points apiece and Savon Goodman added 11.
"This is a group that will play with a chip on its shoulders," UNLV coach Dave Rice said. "I was pleased with the improvement from our exhibition game."
The 92 points were the highest point total for the Runnin' Rebels in a season-opener since 2005-06 when it opened with a 108-73 win over Long Beach State. UNLV, ranked in the preseason for the first time since 1992-93, extended its home winning streak to 19 regular-season games, which dates to the end of 2010-11.
UNLV opened the game with runs of 8-0 and 21-7 to control things from the outset. After the Lumberjacks erased the 14-point deficit with a 16-8 run over a nearly 6-minute stretch, the Rebels responded by closing the first half on a 16-0 run to open up a 45-23 lead. Northern Arizona was held scoreless over the final 4:45 of the first half.
Bennett led the charge during those early runs, scoring nine consecutive points in the first 5 minutes of the game, en route to 11 first-half points.
"Anthony works hard, and nobody has bigger expectations of Anthony than he does himself," Rice said. "I think he got off to a good start (to the season) tonight."
Bennett, Jones, Reinhardt and Goodman are all new to UNLV's roster, and Marshall, a senior entering his fourth season with the Runnin' Rebels was delighted with his new teammates' performances in their first games.
"It was very special, to see the amount of time they put in and then get out there and do their thing," Marshall said. "It was just very special."
Said Bennett: "This game I got a lot of the jitters out and wanted to play how I can play. (And) once the fans get into it, we get into it."
UNLV extended its NCAA Division I record for consecutive games with a 3-pointer. Since the 3-point field goal was adopted by the NCAA in 1986-87, UNLV has converted at least one in all 841 games played.
The Runnin' Rebels hit 50 percent of their shots from the field (16 of 32) in the first half, including going 5 of 14 from beyond the 3-point line.
UNLV hit 33 of its 66 shots (.500), including 9 of 27 from beyond the arc.
NAU was limited in the game with four players sitting out or leaving the game with injuries. Senior guard Stallon Saldivar and forward Ephraim Ekanem both did play in the second half after suffering injuries during the opening half. NAU also started without Gaellan Bewernick (ankle) and Nick Wahl (illness).
