Rebels endure 2nd Maui ‘owie’

Steve Addy

Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2000 | 10:15 a.m.

LAHAINA, Hawaii -- The Rebels didn't get the final shot they wanted Tuesday. Now they're stuck with another bitter loss and an opponent they have no business playing.

On a day when Kaspars Kambala played like an All-American, the Rebels failed to get him the ball on their most crucial play and suffered a hurtful 86-85 overtime loss to Louisville in the second round of the Maui Invitational.

Kambala scored a career-high 37 points, including a record-setting 21-of-22 free throws, but he didn't get his rightful chance to win the game.

On the final play with 13 seconds left, against a weakened cast of Louisville big men, the ball was supposed to go to Kambala in the low post. But forward Dalron Johnson ad-libbed a 3-pointer from the right wing that clanged off the rim, UNLV lost the scramble for the rebound and that was it.

"We executed it perfectly except for the shot," Rebels coach Bill Bayno said. "If we post up Kambala there, I think we win the game. They couldn't stop him.

"Johnson had the guts to take the shot, but he didn't execute. That's something he has to learn. He's a sophomore, I know, but he should be a senior experience-wise."

Johnson was not alone in making a late miscue. One possession earlier, backup point guard Jevon Banks missed a running 7-footer before Kambala could even touch the ball. The situation called for more patience, though Banks then made a steal to give UNLV its final chance.

Paired with the Rebels' competitive 74-69 loss to No. 8 Illinois in Monday's tournament opener, the defeat left them in the inglorious position of playing Division II host Chaminade at 10:30 a.m. today to avoid last place in the eight-team event.

That was a game with no upside for UNLV. If it won, well, there's no glory in beating a Division II opponent. If it lost, the embarrassment would be profound. And no matter what, the game won't help the Rebels later on. Games against Division II teams don't count in the RPI rankings.

Had the Rebels beaten Louisville, they would have played UConn today.

"We've got to come back and play as if we're playing Connecticut," Bayno said. "It will be a good test for us, to see if we hang our heads or come back and play like men."

After two near-misses against high-grade opponents, some may think the Rebels deserve a better fate, especially after they erased Louisville's nine-point lead in the final 4:19 of regulation to force a 74-74 tie. Kambala scored six straight to spark a 13-4 closing spurt, and his assist led to Johnson's tying three-point play with 30 seconds left.

But after working so hard to get even, the Rebels made too many mistakes in overtime. They went ahead by four on Kambala's dunk and two foul shots, but gave it right back on a four-point play by Cardinals shooting guard Marques Maybin after a Jermaine Lewis foul. Maybin had 10 of his team-high 21 points in the extra session.

If not for some awful shooting by Louisville (2-1), UNLV's rally wouldn't have mattered. After taking a 70-61 lead with 5:06 left, the Cardinals hit only 1-of-8 shots from the field -- credit some good defense by UNLV -- and 2-of-8 free throws in the rest of regulation.

The Rebels also hurt themselves with poor perimeter shooting. They had hit almost 50 percent of their 3-pointers through two games, but shot only 5-of-19 from the arc Tuesday. Trevor Diggs went 0-of-4, Johnson 1-of-4 and Lewis 3-of-9.

UNLV's saving grace was Kambala, whose previous scoring high was 32 last year at New Mexico. He was unstoppable, making 8-of-10 shots and forcing the shorthanded Cardinals to foul him. Joseph N'Sima, Hajj Turner and Ellis Myles all fouled out in the final 7:49, and Kambala paraded to the foul line.

Kambala's 21 free throws made were one short of the UNLV record by Elburt Miller in 1966, but his 18 in a row erased Eddie Owens' old record of 15 straight against San Diego State in 1976.

"Trying to take something away from (Kambala) was difficult," Cardinals coach Denny Crum said. "He's big, strong and wide. UNLV did a good job getting him the ball, and we almost ran out of players to guard that guy. We learned that we don't play post defense very well."

In the end, that was all right, because the Rebels went away from their strength at the worst time.