Rebel basketball notebook: Missed shot was turning point for UNLV

Steve Addy

Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2001 | 10:34 a.m.

It was the most unusual shot of the game, and the most pivotal for the Rebels.

If Kaspars Kambala had made his one-handed put-back with three minutes left, there's no telling how the UNLV-Utah game might've turned out Monday night.

The trouble was, his shot clanged away, and UNLV suffered an 85-77 loss at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Kambala had scored 10 straight Rebels points to help trim a 73-59 deficit to 77-72. UNLV had the ball and the momentum, and a successful possession would have kicked the rally into high gear.

Lou Kelly got open on the deep left wing and hurled a 3-pointer with 3:05 to play, but it bricked off the side of the rim directly to Kambala.

But Kambala was falling backward, so he caught the rebound flush with his right hand and stabbed it back toward the basket. He got off a 10-foot line drive as he tumbled on to his back, but it caromed off to the Utes.

Within a minute, Kevin Bradley made a free throw and a 3-pointer to restore a nine-point lead for the Utes, and UNLV was finished.

Nobody was blaming Kambala for his crucial miss, especially because he keyed the Rebels in the second half with 18 of his game-high 22 points. But the miss signified UNLV's frustration.

"I'd sure like to have that play over," coach Max Good said. "We had a wide-open 3, and then Kas missed his tip. But he couldn't catch the ball, since he was falling. (The officials) probably would've called him for traveling."

"I could only get my hand on it for a half-second," Kambala said. "I just had to throw it up there and hope it would go in. That was all I could do."

Dalron Johnson said, "That was the only play Kas could make. It's a split-second decision. You put it up and hope for a foul. I thought he did get fouled, but there are always ifs."

Kambala missed the final 14:38 of the first half after getting two quick fouls, but played well in the second half, making 5-of-9 shots and 8-of-11 free throws. In a 2:14 span, he scored 10 points to get UNLV within 77-72, capped by a three-point play. But he didn't score again.