Above the Rest … Below the Rim: Day 4 at the MWC tournament (UPDATED)

By Ron Kantowski

Saturday, March 15, 2008 | 5:31 p.m.

An unauthorized look at Day 4 of Mountain West Conference basketball tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center:

--- Game on! The Mack isn't quite full but it sure is rockin'. The crowd seems evenly split. Or maybe the BYU fans are just making more noise at the moment. Anyway, the crowd is roaring after every basket. It sounds like Georgia and Kentucky are playing and a tornado is about to lift the roof off the place.

--- A high school coaching pal says you can put anybody into the game in the second quarter and get away with it. Well, we're not even at the second TV timeout, which is the equivalent of the second quarter in college, and Kendall Wallace is in the game for UNLV. Wallace never misses in practice. He seldom hits in games. Trouble is, the Rebels need him to hit, or at least not shoot so much, because they are down, 23-12.

--- Kendall Wallace just hit a bomb from the corner. My coaching pal was right. You can get away with it.

--- BYU runs its fast break like Kansas. The Cougars are fun to watch when they're rolling. And right now, they're rolling. I just blinked my eye ... and missed Jonathan Tavernari's 3-point attempt. The kid from Bishop Gorman might have a quicker trigger finger than the Henderson cops.

--- Uh-oh. Now Mareceo Rutledge is into the game for UNLV. He didn't play last night against Utah but Wink Adams just picked up his second foul (Corey Bailey has three) and if you're Lon Kruger, what do you do? The last time we checked, there weren't a lot of McDonald's All-Americans at the end of his bench. In fact, there aren't a lot of all-district players at the end of his bench. Whoa! Curtis Terry just hit a 3-pointer from Primm. Cougs still on top, 28-23, at the under 4:00 timeout.

--- Kendall Wallace made another basket. Mareceo Rutledge played matador defense, letting Lee Cummard go by him for an easy basket. Joe Darger made a 4-point play, and you sure don't see a lot of those. Wallace threw up an airball. (What was it that Meat Loaf said? Two out of three ain't bad?) Or was that just a "pass" to Rutledge, who put the ball in the hoop as the halftime buzzer sounded? Let's hear it for those second quarter guys. The Rebels are struggling to stay in the game but that's exactly where they are. BYU at the break, 37-33.

--- It's not a neutral court anymore. Three straight 3's by the Rebels, two by Darger. Just like that, UNLV leads 45-38. Dave Rose needs a T.O., baby. With a capital T.O.

--- It's not the second quarter anymore, either. Kendall Wallace reenters at 13:39. At 13:32, he fouls Jimmer -- did I just type Jimmer? -- Fredette on a 3-point try. BYU ties it, 47-47.

--- They just blew the horn for the under 8 timeout. The Rebels are back in front, 53-49. There are reports of fisticuffs in the upper deck. Beer and 7-Up apparently aren't a good mix.

--- Wink Adams just went flying onto his backside after Chris Miles fouled him on a fast break. The fall was worse than the foul, even if the crowd -- the Rebel part of it, at least -- doesn't agree. The UNLV fans may remember that pain in the ... backside the Winkster suffered in the Big Dance last year. Don't need another one now. Not with those second quarter guys at the end of the bench having put their warm-ups back on. UNLV on top with 6:39 to play, 57-50.

--- Adams isn't hurt. But he's putting one on BYU. He just knocked down two 3's from the same spot in front of the UNLV bench. The Cougars need to put a man on that spot or they're gonna be looking at a No. 8 seed instead of a six next weekend in some place like Omaha. Rebels in control, 64-56, with 3:46 to play.

--- He just hit another one -- from a slightly different spot -- to make it 67-58. Wink-a-dink-a-do, like they say on The Mtn. (You'll just have to take my word for it, DirecTV subscribers. They actually say that.) There's another deuce for Adams. He has now scored the Rebels' last 14 points. The Rebels haven't run the table yet, but the 8-ball is sitting where Willie Mosconi can see it.

--- Chalk the cue. Those Buzz Aldrin space boots that Curtis Terry wears just became dancing shoes for the second straight year. UNLV wins the UNLV Invitational -- as one unnamed Mountain West official just called it -- 76-61.

--- There is a calm before the storming of the court. I don't think it was because the guy on the public address system said not to run on the court, because when he said it, it sounded like he had a sock in his mouth. I think it's because the security guard standing 10 feet from me is punching UNLV students as they attempt to barge past him. What, no tear gas? C'mon, man, this is basketball tradition. It's not a protest rally at Kent State. Let the kids have some fun. They'll get bored after a few minutes. Then there will be a trig exam to study for. Or a keg to tap. In five minutes they'll be gone. Let 'em wave their foam fingers, and they won't show you their middle ones.

--- Craig Thompson, the MWC commissioner, is now on the floor -- apparently, nobody from security has punched him -- to present the trophy. It's the first time anybody has seen him all week. But, as usual, his hair is perfect.

--- A bunch of guys who scored a lot of points and pulled down a lot of rebounds are going to make the all-tournament team. Trust me. It happens every year. But that's kind of boring. So instead, we'll use this space to present the All-Mountain West Tournament Bad Hair Team:

Curtis Terry, UNLV (we're not exactly sure what's going on on the top of his head, only that there's a lot of it going on).

Lee Cummard, BYU (he looks like a Volkswagen with the doors open).

Jonathan Tavernari, BYU (has none).

The little guard from TCU with the ponytail (call us old school, but the last guy who looked good in a ponytail was Mark Lindsay, the lead singer of Paul Revere and the Raiders).

Keith Van Horn, Utah (honorary lifetime member).

--- "We are the Champions" is playing at Wembley Stadium volume level as the Rebels cut down the nets. Freddie Mercury's is the first voice I've heard clearly on the public address system all week.

--- This just in (not really). New Mexico beat San Diego State in the women's final, 62-59. The Lady Lobos' coach is Don Flanagan, who before he turned UNM into perennial contenders and New Mexico's hottest attraction since green chile was a successful high school coach in Albuquerque. Are you reading, Mike Hamrick?

--- I just had a crazy thought. What if Mike Hamrick IS reading, and tries to hire a high school coach from Albuquerque. Psst, Mike. Here's what I'm trying to say. Between them, Bishop Gorman and Centennial have won the last seven state girls basketball championships. Those are Las Vegas high schools. They have coaches who are successful. And know the local players. The kind of players who could help the Lady Rebels win some games instead of helping North Carolina and Duke and Stanford and Texas and Vanderbilt and Notre Dame and ... well, you get the idea. I think.

--- Or you could just bring back Ladonna "4-24" McClain. Anyway, Mike, whoever the new coach is, insist that he/she gets out to watch the local girls play once in a while. He/she might be surprised at the skill level of the players in his/her own backyard.