Banks roars off bench, helps UNLV rock Utah

Steve Addy

Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2002 | 9:51 a.m.

WHAT: Florida International (10-16) at UNLV (13-8)

WHEN: Wednesday, 7:35 p.m.

WHERE: Thomas & Mack Center

TV: None

RADIO: KBAD 920-AM

Marcus Banks fidgeted helplessly on UNLV's bench Monday night, watching time tick away as his sprained right ankle throbbed and his teammates struggled to cut into Utah's lead.

"We're going to lose while I'm sitting here," was the depressing thought rolling through his mind.

Banks finally ran out of patience and diplomacy. After a few sprints in the Thomas & Mack tunnel, the junior point guard pronounced himself ready to play and, um, forcefully requested that coach Charlie Spoonhour send him back in.

"Coach was saying, 'No, no, you're done,' so I had to convince him," Banks said. "My mind was made up. If I'm going to lose, I'm going to lose with my team. But I couldn't let that happen."

After some lobbying by assistant coach Derek Thomas, Banks was reinserted with 10:13 to play and UNLV trailing 51-44.

Less than four minutes later, the Rebels had scored 13 straight points for their first lead and they charged to a 72-64 upset victory that knocked Utah out of the Mountain West co-lead.

On a night when there were stars at several UNLV lockers, Banks was the most inspirational as the Rebels rallied from an 11-point deficit before a responsive crowd of 10,218 and an ESPN Big Monday audience.

After falling behind 11-0 in the first five minutes and still trailing by 11 with 14 minutes to go, UNLV made its best defensive clamp-down of the season, cranked up the fast break and left the Utes choking on fumes. The 13-0 run was part of a larger 19-2 spurt that turned a 49-38 deficit into a 57-51 lead with 6:42 left, and the Rebels stayed ahead by at least three thereafter.

It was the Rebels' first win over Utah since Feb. 5, 2000 and easily their biggest since Spoonhour took over. It lifted them to 13-8 going into Wednesday's non-league home game against Florida International and put them alone in third place in the conference at 5-4.

More than that, the victory might have signified the night UNLV's fans finally fell in love with this particular group of Rebels. It probably didn't hurt that Utah was the opponent and ESPN brought its cameras, but there was sustained noise in the arena from the start. It's now clear how Spoonhour's clubs averaged 17,700 fans at Saint Louis with middling talent.

It's also obvious Spoonhour has convinced a team with selfish tendencies that defense is the way to go, that if the Rebels get stops and rebound, there will be plenty of fast breaks to go around. That's how they finally erased Utah's lead -- by pressuring the ball, causing turnovers (22 in all), limiting the Utes to one shot, and running on offense when there was daylight.

There was plenty of glory to be shared. Dalron Johnson overcame a spotty first half to compile 17 points, freshman center Lou Amundson was a ball of energy with 12 points and seven rebounds, Banks scored 12 with five steals and Chris Richardson added 11 points.

Banks' closing stretch was crucial. He had exited with 6:10 left in the first half after colliding with Utah's Trace Caton and spraining his ankle. He was helped to the locker room, then limped out of the locker room after halftime. Spoonhour said he was done for the night.

But after Banks' test workout in the tunnel, he thought he could play.

"I told (trainer Dave Tomchek) to cut the tape off and let me see what happens," he said. "I ran down as far as I could and sprinted back, and I was like, 'This feels good.' I felt I was 90 or 95 percent."

But Spoonhour required coaxing.

"I didn't think he would play, but we were struggling a little bit and he decided he would try it," Spoonhour said. "He had to talk me into it. I thought he'd go out there and hobble around. I was very proud of him, because he was hurt. He's going to be sore."

Immediately after entering, Banks made a driving layup. On Utah's next possession, he tipped Travis Spivey's inbounds pass, stole it, was fouled and hit a free throw. Two minutes later, he made a steal and passed to Amundson for a layup that put UNLV ahead to stay, 53-51.

If there was any doubt about his ankle, Banks made a steal and one-handed dunk to seal the decision with 16 seconds left.