Bayno inherits the Mack

Steve Carp

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

An inexperienced and sometimes immature team grew up in front of 18,024 vocal supporters and an entire nation Monday night. And they couldn't have picked a better time to do it.

Clinging to a seven-point lead and forced to go the final 3:38 against Fresno State without star center Keon Clark, UNLV had two choices. It could wilt under the relentless pressure and allow Jerry Tarkanian's return to the Thomas & Mack Center to have a happy ending for the former Rebels coach. Or it could find a way to stick together, maintain its poise, and win.

To the surprise of many and the delight of coach Bill Bayno, the Rebels opted for the latter as Tyrone Nesby returned as an offensive force, Tony Lane held his own inside, "Superman" Warren Rosegreen refused to turn into Clark Kent and Sunshine Smith and Mark Dickel didn't get rattled.

The result was a hard-fought and well-deserved 78-64 win for UNLV and added momentum for the final four games of the season. The win, which boosted the Rebels' record to 16-7, was their fourth in their last five games, none more pressure-packed than this one.

The win also pulled the Rebels even with Fresno for second place in the WAC Pacific Division. Both teams are 8-4, two games behind division leader Hawaii.

"It was a huge step for us," said Rosegreen, who was superhuman with 15 points and a career-high 21 rebounds. "You could tell this was special with a sellout crowd, Coach Tark being back and both teams needing the game."

The atmosphere inside the Thomas & Mack was electric. From the pregame introductions, which included a thunderous standing ovation for Tarkanian that lasted 30 seconds, to the 23-9 run the Rebels made in the first half to erase a 21-16 deficit, to the nail-biting final four minutes, it was an evening to remember for everyone who was there as well as those watching on ESPN.

"We knew this would be a war," Bayno said. "You always hope your kids will respond to adversity and our guys did. They handled the pressure and they didn't back down."

Tarkanian said: "I thought our guys played hard. But if you don't make shots and you don't rebound, it's hard to win."

The Rebels were tenacious defensively, trying to find the Fresno shooters and not let them get their rhythm. Dominick Young, the Bulldogs' best shooter, was awful, hitting just 1 of 11 tries from 3-point land. Daymond Forney, Fresno's second-leading scorer at 14.4 points per game, was blanked by Nesby and fouled out with just less than nine minutes to play with a 0-for-10 doughnut.

Only Chris Herren hurt UNLV, scoring 26 points and playing fearless and hard-nosed basketball, something his teammates couldn't or wouldn't emulate. But even Herren struggled, going just 10 of 26 from the field as he singlehandedly tried to keep his team in it.

"We wanted to contest all their outside shots and make sure we rebounded and took charges," Bayno said. "Warren was unbelievable. Tyrone had a great all-around game. Sun and Dickel did a good job down the stretch and Tony was strong inside. It was a total team effort.

"I said all along this wasn't about me beating Jerry Tarkanian. It was our kids beating his kids."

But it was also about growing up. It was about handling pressure and responding to challenges. UNLV has come back before, but not in an atmosphere like this where everyone was hanging on every possession, screaming their lungs out. And not when so much was at stake with the chance for postseason play looming ominously on the horizon.

"You could feel it," Nesby said. "This is the way I remember it when I was a kid watching them play on TV. The crowd all hyped up. National TV. No question, it was exciting to be part of it."

Nesby said when Clark fouled out, the burden of responsibility fell on everyone's shoulders, not just his.

"They didn't need me to score while Keon was in because he was getting it done," he said. "But when he fouled out, I knew I had to get back in the picture.

"I was broke. But when I got that first one to drop, I knew I was going to be OK."

The Rebels were leading 61-55 when Nesby hit a 16-footer with just less than three minutes to play. Then he sank a pair of free throws. And after Smith banked one in from 15 feet, Nesby drove the baseline and scored, giving UNLV an insurmountable 69-57 lead with 1:55 to go.

Nesby's 20 points and 11 boards, plus his defense on Forney, was a big part of Monday's victory. But Rosegreen's determination and his willingness to battle inside all night was equally important. He had a double-double by halftime with 15 points and 12 rebounds. But when Clark was riding pine, he was elevating and battling underneath.

"I was not going to be denied," said the 6-foot-5 senior. "I was pumped up because a lot was riding on this game. Not just Coach Tark coming back. We needed to get this win to keep our hopes alive of going (to the NCAAs)."

Rosegreen said defense was the key to holding off Fresno State in the final minutes.

"When Keon went out, everyone looked at each other and said, 'We can't let him down,'/thinspace" he said. "Keon had been carrying us. And without him, it was our responsibility to not let it get away.

"We had to pick it up defensively in case we struggled offensively. We knew if we didn't let them score, it didn't matter what we did offensively. I'm just so proud of the guys for sticking together and hanging in there the way we did. It's definitely something to build on."

And that's what Bayno is hoping -- that his team builds on Monday's victory and uses it as a catalyst over the next four games and into the WAC tournament.

"I said all along that this game was not going to make or break us," he said. "If they had come in here and blown us out, maybe. It would've hurt and it would've been hard to recover from that.

"As long as we played hard and the crowd's behind us and we give it everything we've got, it's not the end of the world. But I'm proud of my kids and I'm happy for our seniors. They've been through so much.

"Hopefully, we turned the corner and we can build on what we did. I think we did grow up tonight."