Rebels run out of energy, beaten by Cowboys 77-69

Steve Addy

Saturday, Dec. 2, 2000 | 9:06 a.m.

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Yet again, the Rebels were on a cusp of a breakthrough victory Saturday night, but all they got was another heartbreaking near-miss.

Having already lost close games to Illinois and Louisville, UNLV recovered from a dreadful start with a gritty second half, but ran out of steam in overtime and was beaten by Oklahoma State 77-69 at the Myriad Center.

After finally gaining their only lead, 62-60, on two Danny Brotherson free throws with 7.9 seconds left in regulation, the Rebels couldn't hold on. They allowed OSU to force overtime at 62-62, then had nothing left for the extra five minutes, getting outscored 15-7.

The Rebels fell to 3-3 heading into next Saturday's game at Nevada-Reno. Oklahoma State is 3-0.

Despite a fantastic defensive effort in the second half, in which they held the Cowboys without a field goal for the final 6:44 of regulation, the Rebels had only themselves to blame for their second OT loss of the season.

UNLV put itself in a 13-point hole in the first half by committing 15 turnovers -- many unforced -- and shooting 30 percent. It was easily the Rebels' poorest half of the season. They had to spend the entire second half pursuing the lead and finally got it, but could not finish strong.

The Rebels also had to scramble for offense all night because Kaspars Kambala didn't play well. He finished with nine points and 12 rebounds, but scored only four in regulation.

In the end, it was just another winnable game against a quality team that UNLV could not complete.

"We need to play every game the way we played the second half," Rebels coach Bill Bayno said. "We are not good enough -- especially on the road -- to not have everybody playing their best. We need Kas. We need everybody. I don't know why we started that way."

The Rebels' first-half effort might've been insufficient to win a neighborhood pickup game, let alone a road game against a team that made the NCAA Southeast Regional final last March. OSU is in a rebuilding mode, but it was the Rebels who played like the more inexperienced club.

"In the first half, we were horrible," Brotherson said. "We are not going to win games if we start out like that. Guys just have to be ready to go, bottom line. I know this team has heart, but we have to show it for 40 minutes."

"We keep saying we want respect, but you can't take 10 minutes off against teams like Oklahoma State," said Trevor Diggs, who shot 3-of-13, but had to play point guard most of the night. "There's no reason for us to play like that early in the game."

It was Brotherson who sparked the comeback, scoring UNLV's final six points of regulation at the foul line. He put the Rebels ahead 62-60 after being fouled by OSU's Terrance Crawford about 35 feet from the basket with 7.9 seconds left.

But it was Brotherson's fifth foul that let OSU get even. He attempted to slap the ball away from Cowboys guard Victor Williams at midcourt and was whistled with five seconds left. Williams hit both free throws, then Diggs' 3-pointer at the buzzer fell short, forcing OT.

Clearly dispirited over not winning in regulation, the Rebels quickly fell behind 71-64 in overtime and never recovered. Kambala scored five straight points to trim the gap to 71-69, but a dunk by Fredrik Jonzen and four straight Maurice Baker free throws allowed OSU to pull away.

Baker, the ex-Dixie College star who chose Oklahoma State over UNLV, fueled the Cowboys with 23 points. Jonzen and Andre Williams had 13 apiece.

For UNLV, Dalron Johnson compiled 19 points and nine rebounds. Jermaine Lewis had 17 off the bench and Brotherson 12, including 8-of-8 at the foul line.

UNLV missed its first six shots and had four turnovers before finally scoring four minutes into the game. By then OSU was ahead 8-0. The turnovers continued to pile up for the Rebels, as they committed 11 in the first 10:30.

Amazingly, UNLV kept the game close for a while,despite the giveaways. The Rebels trailed only 21-17 after a Diggs 3-pointer with 5:25 left before halftime. But OSU went on an 8-0 run in the next 1:43 and stretched its lead to 35-22 in the final minute of the half.

The Rebels' turnovers wouldn't have been so costly had they shot better. They made only 8 of 27 attempts in the half (29.6 percent). They finished at only 34.4 percent for the game.

* NOTES: Reserve point guard Jevon Banks suffered a severe left ankle sprain seven minutes into the game and didn't return. He landed badly after trying to block a shot by Baker and had to be helped to the locker room. ...

The NCAA has informed UNLV that Chris Richardson's eligibility will be restored in time for the Dec. 16 home game against Cincinnati. The NCAA shortened his indefinite suspension to 30 percent of UNLV's season, meaning he will have missed eight games, including last season's NCAA Tournament game against Tulsa. Richardson was suspended for misleading NCAA investigators during their probe of UNLV rules infractions.