UNLV faces tough task trying to halt Utes

Steve Addy

Monday, Feb. 21, 2000 | 10:05 a.m.

SALT LAKE CITY -- ESPN is showing tonight's game as part of Big Monday, but for UNLV and Utah, it's more like Mental Health Monday.

Whichever team is quicker to shed the psychological baggage from its crushing loss on Saturday will likely gain the upper hand in tonight's battle for the Mountain West lead at the Huntsman Center.

Will it be the Utes, who endangered their season-long lead with a 72-65 loss at New Mexico, or the Rebels, who nearly overcame a meager defensive effort at Brigham Young before losing 83-82 when Trevor Diggs' last-second shot wouldn't fall?

At least UNLV can take solace in getting a second straight chance to tie for the Mountain West lead. Had the Rebels beaten BYU, they would've tied Utah at 8-2. Instead, UNLV fell to 7-3 and now must complete a season sweep of the Utes to have a realistic chance to earn the conference title, let alone an NCAA Tournament bid.

To do that, the Rebels can't afford any hangover from Saturday, when they probably should have been routed, but stayed close enough to nearly steal the game with a last-minute comeback.

"Our guys were hurt over the loss, but they have shown a lot of character," coach Bill Bayno said. "This game will test our maturity and togetherness. They know they need to put the loss behind them and play their best."

"We were disappointed by the loss, and we didn't play very well, but what are you doing to do now?" point guard Mark Dickel said. "We have to get ready to play again. If we play hard and defend like we know we can, there's no reason we can't win."

The Utes can only hope to muster a better performance than in Saturday's loss at the Pit. They played poor defensively and couldn't generate much offense under the basket. Of their 58 field goal attempts, 26 were 3-pointers. Though they made 10, the passive offense prevented the Utes from getting to the foul line; they had only nine free-throw attempts to New Mexico's 25.

Coach Rick Majerus, whose team dropped four spots to 24th in the USA Today-ESPN poll, said his players must address "a lot of things attitudinally" to hang on to their conference lead. Utes captain Alex Jensen said the team needs to work "pretty much on everything."

Besides shaking off Saturday's stunners, both teams have other hurdles to clear. The Utes will probably be without their top scorer, power forward Hanno Mottola, for the fourth straight game. Mottola, who averages 17.5 points, is sidelined with thumb and elbow injuries that might keep him out the rest of the season.

"You have to prepare like he's going to be there," Bayno insisted.

The Rebels, meanwhile, will merely be trying to end Utah's 50-game home winning streak. It has been more than three years since a visiting team left the Huntsman Center with a victory. Wake Forest was the last to win there on Dec. 31, 1996.

One factor working in the Rebels' favor is that Diggs is hot. He has had two straight 21-point games, shooting a combined 15-of-30, including 10-of-20 3-pointers. The shooting guard clanked the would-be game-winner Saturday and broke down in tears, but he vowed to be ready tonight.

"I really wanted that one, especially at that point in the game," Diggs said. "If I make it, we're tied for first place. You're going to win some and lose some, but that one hurt. But you can't dwell on it. Everyone told me I had a good look. I would take that shot again."

Bayno said, "Two more inches and the shot probably goes in. It took guts for him to take that shot. You can't second-guess him. I think Trev will come back strong."

* REBEL NOTES: UNLV will fly home immediately after tonight's game, hoping to get some rest in preparation for Tuesday's nonconference game against hapless Florida Atlantic at the Thomas & Mack Center. Under coach Sidney Green, the former UNLV star, Florida Atlantic is 1-24, beating only NAIA opponent Nova Southeastern in the third game of the season. ...

Until he fouled out with two minutes left, Dickel played the entire game at BYU. He said he is not wearing down, despite shooting only 6-of-30 in his last four games. "I feel the same. I'm just not pulling up and shooting it like I was," he said. ...

The Rebels' RPI ranking has fallen to 45th. Utah is 34th, BYU 40th.