Rebels inch by Rams in final seconds

Steve Addy

Saturday, Jan. 29, 2000 | 4:29 a.m.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- UNLV coach Bill Bayno got what he prayed for and his Rebels got what they richly deserved here Saturday.

Having overcome a 10-point deficit in the last 12 minutes, UNLV held on for a 78-75 victory over Colorado State when the Rams' final 3-point attempt at the buzzer was off-target.

Moments before the shot, with the Rebels clinging to their three-point margin, Bayno said on the sideline, "Please, God, please. Nothing crazy."

After all, Colorado State leads the NCAA in 3-point shooting at 43 percent and had already made 10 of 21 triples in the game.

But Bayno got his wish as Danny Brotherson played snug defense on CSU freshman guard Andy Birley and deflected his shot. Birley, the Rams' coaches and their fans believed Birley was fouled, but no call was made and UNLV escaped with its fourth straight Mountain West victory.

Rather unexpectedly -- but, hey, here it is in black and white -- the Rebels are 4-1 in the MWC, including three road wins, and alone in second place behind Utah. UNLV (13-4 overall) goes after another road win Monday night at Wyoming.

There were heroes at most every UNLV locker, especially center Kaspars Kambala, who rallied from a four-point first half to finish with 23. He hit 10 of 12 shots, including 8 of 9 in the Rebels' 53-point second half when CSU had no answer for him around the basket. The Rams were forced to single-cover him for much of the half because UNLV was also hitting jumpers.

Every other Rebels starter scored in double-figures, led by Mark Dickel and Trevor Diggs with 15 each and Donovan Stewart and Dalron Johnson with 10 each. Brotherson was terrific off the bench, hitting UNLV's last two baskets for a 74-70 lead and grabbing nine rebounds. He broke the tie on a tip-in with 3:06 left, then made a baseline layup with 1:29 to play.

Three free throws by Diggs and one by Dickel in the final 28 seconds kept UNLV safely ahead.

The Rebels were dreadful in the first half, shooting 3 for 17 in the final 15:22, and trailed by eight at halftime 33-25. They made 13 of their first 14 shots in the second half, but were still behind 58-48 with 12:05 to play.

A 14-3 run earned UNLV a 62-61 lead, with Dickel scoring the final seven on a layup, a 3-pointer and two free throws.