Displaying their worst offensive performance of the season, the Cougars suffered their third consecutive road loss on Tuesday night as UNLV routed the defending Mountain West Conference champions 70-41 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Eager to display a crowd-pleasing performance in their conference home opener, the Rebels (13-4, 2-1) delivered. They used their defensive quickness and shooting prowess to prolong their mastery over BYU (12-5, 1-1) at Thomas & Mack.

UNLV has won four straight over the Cougars in the red-dominated venue that serves as the host for the conference tournament.

The game was eerily reminiscent of BYU's recent loss to Wake Forest in which the Cougars were dominated in nearly every facet.

BYU had a decided size advantage inside with 6-foot-11 junior Trent Plaisted, but the Cougars were never able to exploit it. UNLV's tallest starter was 6-foot-7 Riverton native Joe Darger and its tallest player off the bench was 6-8 Matt Shaw.

But what the Rebels lacked in height, they made up for with their quickness and intensity. UNLV's pressure defense rattled the Cougars and forced them into 19 turnovers, which UNLV converted into 24 points. The Rebels outrebounded BYU 38-35.

BYU endured a stretch of more than nine minutes in the second half without a field goal and shot just 33 percent for the game, including 3 of 21 from behind the three-point line. The point total was BYU's lowest of the season by 20 points.

Plaisted didn't even attempt his first shot until nearly five minutes had expired and was never a factor. He finished with five points, and his free-throw struggles continued. He converted only 1 of 10 from the line.

BYU actually grabbed a 3-0 lead on a three-pointer by Jonathan Tavernari, but things quickly spiraled downhill from there.

A great defensive play by Rene Rougeau provided UNLV with a spark that reverberated on both ends of the court.

After BYU junior guard Lee Cummard stole the ball, Rougeau came from behind and swatted Cummard's layup attempt at the rim.

UNLV proceeded to embark on a 19-2 run punctuated by three straight three-pointers. The Rebels expanded their lead to 39-21 by halftime and continued to pour it on in the second half.

UNLV hit 10 of 25 three-pointers with Curtis Terry accounting for five. Terry led the Rebels with 21 points while Rougeau had 15.

Cummard was the only player to reach double figures scoring for BYU with 11. Tavernari's first made shot was his only one as he went 1-for-9 from the field with three turnovers.

BYU faces another road test on Saturday, although this one comes a bit closer to home. The Cougars play rival Utah at the Huntsman Center, and hope the abbreviated mileage will provide a tonic for their road woes.

rpotkey@sltrib.com

UNLV 70, BYU 41

FG FT Reb

UNLV Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Bailey 17 2-6 0-0 1-4 2 3 4

Darger 27 1-7 2-3 1-4 2 4 5

Adams 28 0-5 5-7 0-3 1 2 5

Rougeau 35 7-11 1-2 1-7 2 3 15

Terry 33 7-12 2-2 1-4 3 1 21

Rutledge 16 1-3 2-3 1-2 1 1 4

Wallace 12 2-4 0-0 1-1 1 0 5

Cage 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Lawrence 15 1-2 1-2 0-3 1 0 4

Shaw 17 2-7 1-2 2-8 3 5 7

Totals 200 23-57 14-21 8-38 16 19 70

Percentages: FG .404, FT .667. Three-Point Goals: 10-25, .400 (Darger, Terry 5, Wallace, Lawrence, Shaw 2). Team Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 3 (Rougeau 3). Turnovers: 8 (Bailey, Rougeau, Terry 2, Rutledge, Lawrence, Shaw 2). Steals: 9 (Bailey, Adams 2, Rougeau 3, Rutledge 2, Shaw). Technical Fouls: None.

FG FT Reb

BYU Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Tavernari 26 1-9 0-0 1-3 0 2 3

Plaisted 23 2-3 1-10 1-6 0 1 5

Burgess 25 0-5 2-2 0-4 2 5 2

Murdock 32 2-5 2-2 0-1 2 2 6

Cummard 33 4-9 2-2 2-5 0 3 11

Loyd Jr. 8 0-1 0-0 0-0 1 2 0

Rose 3 1-1 0-0 1-1 0 2 2

Martineau 5 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Fredette 10 1-2 0-0 0-0 0 2 3

Collinsworth 18 0-3 0-0 1-11 0 0 0

Miles 17 4-7 1-4 0-1 0 1 9

Totals 200 15-45 8-20 6-35 5 20 41

Percentages: FG .333, FT .400. Three-Point Goals: 3-21, .143 (Tavernari, Cummard, Fredette). Team Rebounds: 3. Blocked Shots: 2 (Tavernari, Plaisted). Turnovers: 19 (Tavernari, Plaisted, Burgess, Murdock, Cummard, Loyd Jr. Martineau, Fredette 2, Collinsworth 2). Technical Fouls: None.

BYU 21 20-41

UNLV 39 31-70

A - 13,074. Officials: Scott Thornley, Randy McCall, Tom O'Neill.