Rebel recap: Bigelow gave BYU second-half boost

the numbers

Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2002 | 10:41 a.m.

PROVO, Utah -- Recapping UNLV's 60-47 loss to BYU on Tuesday night:

First half

Score: UNLV 26, BYU 22

The Man: Dalron Johnson played a strong half, scoring 12 points by hitting 5 of 7 shots. He was making jump shots, but also posting up aggressively against BYU's big men.

Turning point: The Rebels went ahead 15-12 with a 6-0 run, then stretched it to 26-19 with 1:34 left in the half after two straight baskets by Johnson.

Off the bench: Neither team's subs contributed significantly, with both groups shooting 0-of-3.

Game within the game: Coming off Saturday's no-show at Utah, the Rebels played one of their best defensive halves of the season. Rather than laying off BYU's shooters, they did a better job of fighting through screens and closing out on the perimeter.

Second half

Final: BYU 60, UNLV 47

The Man: After a one-point first half, BYU scoring leader Mark Bigelow finished with 16. By the time he had 13 second-half points with 2:33 to go, the Rebels had 15 as a team.

Turning point: The game was tied at 35 with 11 minutes to play, but the Rebels managed only two baskets in the next eight-plus minutes as BYU went on a 17-6 run for a 52-41 lead.

Off the bench: BYU's Daniel Bobik made the difference with all of his seven points in the half. His 3-pointer with 7:34 left put the Cougars up five, and UNLV never got any closer after that.

Game within the game: Though the Rebels forced BYU into a season-high 20 turnovers, they didn't take advantage. Especially after they fell behind, they grew frazzled on offense. If they got a shot at all, BYU's superior rebounding (39-22) prevented second chances.