Not so good for starters

Victoria Sun

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2000 | 10:29 a.m.

It's tough when you're an 18-year-old freshman and you suddenly find the ball in your hands with a few seconds left on the clock and your team down by two points.

There's no time to think, really. Only time to react.

Make the shot and you're everybody's savior for helping the team to overtime or a one-point victory.

Miss the shot and you've got the weight of the universe on your shoulders -- not because everyone expects you to make the shot (it's clear that you were not the first option, but somehow got open), but because you wanted to make it. You wanted to help your team so badly that you will be replaying the shot over and over and over again in your head all night long.

That's the situation UNLV freshman Dalron Johnson faced on Monday night. Johnson missed the shot, but he didn't single-handedly cost the Rebels the game.

With less than two seconds left on the clock Johnson fired a long jumper with his foot on the line that clanged out to give Brigham Young a 77-75 victory before an announced crowd of 12,597 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

"It's my fault," a dejected Johnson said. "You've got to be prepared when people fly at you.

"I didn't feel it was going in because I had to adjust it when I caught the ball."

The victory dropped UNLV to 9-4 overall and 0-1 in the Mountain West, while BYU improved to 12-2, 1-0.

Trevor Diggs led the Rebels with 20 points while Mark Dickel had 17 and Johnson finished with 16.

Dickel scored UNLV's last two points when he made two free throws with 46 seconds left to make it 77-75. Then BYU called a timeout.

The Rebels got a break when the Cougars' hot hand, Terrell Lyday was called for traveling, giving UNLV one last chance to win the game or tie it.

UNLV then called a timeout to diagram a play, but the Cougars read it perfectly, forcing Dickel to pass the ball to Johnson instead.

"We wanted to down screen, give Dickel the ball and post-up Kas (Kaspars Kambala)," UNLV associate head coach Glynn Cyprien said. "Kas was our first option.

"That broke down, (so) we had screen-and-roll at the top. Dalron popped open and had a good look at the basket. We were hoping to get it inside, but I also told them if you get a good look, don't be afraid to take the shot."

Cyprien served as acting head coach for Bill Bayno, who was at home watching the game while serving a one-game suspension for missing the mandatory MWC coaches meeting last Oct. 21.

BYU coach Steve Cleveland had his players deny Kambala the chance to get the ball inside on the last play by having three defenders camped out in the paint.

"The kids showed a lot of heart," Cleveland said. "I thought at the end, Terrell got tripped and fouled when he got the travel call."

Lyday was unstoppable with 30 points including five 3-pointers, 11 rebounds and six steals. He was helped by Mekeli Wesley, who chipped in 17.

As much as Johnson will blame himself and remember the shot he didn't make, he probably won't remember the 8-of-16 he did make or the seven rebounds, two blocks and two steals he grabbed in what was his best performance of the season.

He probably won't remember how he helped the Rebels stay in the game early by cleaning up on the boards (he had seven of his rebounds in the first half) and putting back his teammates' missed shots when they weren't falling (UNLV shot a dismal 27 percent in the first half).

A few factors combined to do in the Rebels: Lyday, a poor first half defensively and offensively and the Cougars' offensive and defensive continuity throughout the game.

The Rebels committed 13 turnovers that led to 17 points for the Cougars (six more than BYU surrendered) in the first half.

BYU did a good job defensively in shutting down Dickel in the first half by having two Cougars constantly pressuring him, but many of the turnovers the team committed were unforced. Throughout the game the Cougars also double- and triple-teamed Kambala when necessary, holding him to only eight points.

While the shots weren't falling for UNLV, almost everything was falling for BYU thanks in large part to the fact that they got open looks. The Cougars made 5-of-10 3-pointers en route to a 42-32 lead.

"We gave them a lot of open shots in transition," Diggs said. "We can't give a great-shooting team like this open shots.

"We just didn't play hard enough, I guess. We have to play two halves of basketball. I give them a lot of credit because they did play well."

UNLV found itself behind in the second half by as many as 11 points until the Rebels made a 10-1 run capped by a 3-pointer by Dickel, then a follow-up 3-pointer by Diggs to cut BYU's lead to 55-54.

Despite the second-half surge, Johnson said the first half hurt.

"The first half, we didn't come out and play hard," he said. "We knew he (Terrell Lyday) was well-capable to score 30 points on us.

"I was supposed to help out, but found myself pressuring up and wasn't able to switch. We're all responsible. I guess we don't realize we should be playing hard from the start and by the time we realize we can lose it it's too late.

"It was a hard loss. We let one man pick us apart. It hurts a lot because this is league and we let this one slip away."