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March 29, 2024

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Live Game Blog: Rebels stumble into postseason, fall to Aztecs, 57-46

UNLV vs. San Diego State

Justin M. Bowen

Rene Rougeau throws down a dunk as the Rebels take on the San Diego State Aztecs Saturday night, March 7, 2009, at Cox Arena in San Diego. UNLV lost 57-46 to finish the regular season 9-7 in conference play.

UNLV faces San Diego State

Tre'Von Willis goes to the basket by two defenders during  first-half action as the Rebels take on the San Diego State Aztecs Saturday night, March 7, 2009, at Cox Arena in San Diego.  UNLV lost 57-46 to finish the regular season 9-7 in conference play.

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Beyond the Sun

Final, SDSU wins, 57-46

SAN DIEGO -- With just over a minute to play on Saturday night and a second showing on the shot clock, San Diego State inbounded the ball from underneath the UNLV bucket.

A lofted pass found the hands of Kyle Spain, who in one motion, put it in off the glass, extending SDSU's lead over UNLV to 12 points.

Meanwhile, Wink Adams, directly in front of Spain in the set, had no idea the Aztec guard had left the floor and was looking the other way.

That summed up UNLV's second half performance in a 57-46 loss on Saturday night at the Cox Arena, which sent the Rebels stumbling into this week's Mountain West Conference tournament at the Thomas & Mack Center at 21-9 overall and 9-7 in the MWC.

The Rebels will be the fifth seed, facing the Aztecs, oddly enough, at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday afternoon. SDSU finishes the regular season at 21-8 overall and 10-5 in the league.

UNLV led, 25-24, at halftime, but following an Oscar Bellfield 3-pointer with 14:18 to play, the Rebels went without a field goal for nearly 9 minutes. Just before René Rougeau's layup to end the drought, Spain hit back-to-back threes to ignite the 11,533 in attendance.

Tre'Von Willis led the Rebels with 16 points, while Rougeau added 12. Spain had 16 and Lorrenzo Wade scored 15 for the Aztecs.

UNLV was 15-of-45 from the floor and was rough offensively for the second time in a week, and was outrebounded 39-20.

For full postgame coverage, including stories, photos, stats, video and The Rebel Room: Postgame Edition, stay tuned to www.lasvegassun.com/rebels.

3:53, second half, SDSU leads 49-41

SAN DIEGO -- Unless things drastically change in the final four minutes, this is just another step in UNLV's rocky road towards the post season.

First, 46 points against Air Force on Wednesday, and now an offensive showing that has hardly inspired, especially in the second half, as UNLV has only four field goals since the break.

UNLV keeps giving itself chances to come back, but ugly turnovers in the last couple of possessions by Kendall Wallace and Oscar Bellfield have stemmed those efforts.

Meanwhile, SDSU is hitting free throws, and the Rebels, well, yeah, just not much more to say for tonight it looks like.

7:03, second half, SDSU leads 39-34

SAN DIEGO -- Oscar Bellfield hit a 3-pointer from the right wing with 14:18 to play, and since then -- 7-plus minutes -- UNLV has yet to hit another field goal.

Meanwhile, SDSU has only one in that stretch, but it was huge. A Matt Thomas 3-pointer put the Aztecs up by five, and the crowd is making it even tougher for UNLV to organize and mount a fight back.

Wink Adams was fouled just before the media timeout, and has yet to score a point tonight. How's that for an underlying theme?

11:47, second half, SDSU leads 34-32

SAN DIEGO -- Much like the first meeting between UNLV and SDSU this season, foul calls are starting to pile up in quantity early in the second half.

Only this time, they're mostly coming against the Rebels.

René Rougeau caught Lorrenzo Wade's hand on a shot attempt with 12:36 to play, which put SDSU in the bonus at a very early point in the second stanza.

Because of the stop-and-go nature of this half so far, UNLV has lost its flow on the offensive end, not there was a ton to start with. But now, UNLV looks pretty flustered.

Still, look for Tre'Von Willis to carry UNLV through this, or at least try to. He's maintained a high level all evening, even through the recent tough times.

A couple of possessions back, with no one really eager to take a shot in front of a wild crowd, Willis took the ball and basically said 'screw it', putting it on the floor and driving hard to the rack, where he was fouled and converted two free throws.

15:22, second half, SDSU leads 30-27

SAN DIEGO -- The Aztecs' penchant for grabbing offensive rebounds is really starting to hurt the Rebels. Lorrenzo Wade tipped a loose ball to Ryan Amoroso for a layup moments ago.

Then, Kyle Spain tipped in his own miss, followed by a Richie Williams odd layup to bring the Cox Arena crowd to its feet.

UNLV now has just 6 defensive boards to SDSU's 14 offensive rebounds. That disparity is really starting to show on the scoreboard.

Halftime, UNLV leads 25-24

SAN DIEGO -- I pretty uneventful finish to the first half, and most of the media on press row is instead following the end of the BYU-Air Force game, which the Cougars appear ready to squeeze out at the end. To think, they were favored by 22.5 points.

But still, even though the first half in Cox Arena was ugly, there's still plenty to talk about. Lets start with some numbers ...

--UNLV is 10-of-25 from the floor.

--San Diego State is 8-of-24, but has 12 offensive rebounds, compared to just 6 defensive boards for UNLV. That's been a big difference and has helped the Aztecs stay within a point.

--Tre'Von Willis is playing a great game, with a game-high 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting. He has 3 assists and 2 turnovers, but has been very in control with the ball and is making phenomenal passes in transition.

--Lorrenzo Wade leads SDSU with 9, including a tip-in of a Richie Williams miss just before the buzzer to pull the Aztecs to within a point.

--While offensive boards are keeping SDSU close, the 12 turnovers in the first half haven't helped them. UNLV only has 5 giveaways.

--Billy White scored 2 points in 11 minutes, but was otherwise pretty absent. Still, it's another body for SDSU, who has Tim Shelton this time around. He missed the first meeting with the Rebels with a knee injury.

UNLV is completely unfazed by the crowd here, and is playing pretty in control so far. They're not nearly as frazzled by the frantic up-and-down nature of this game like they were the first time around. If a few more outside shots drop (2-of-7 so far from deep), UNLV could create some valuable separation early on. SDSU is 5-of-8 from long range, with 4 different guys doing the damage. But their 3-point looks have come because of UNLV mishaps, while the Rebels are creating theirs in a much cleaner fashion.

Basically, UNLV's played the much smarter game so far.

7:03, first half, UNLV leads 17-15

SAN DIEGO -- This game's continuing to look pretty ugly, with lots of loose balls and bodies squeaking on the deck.

But Joe Darger added some beauty for a couple of moments, cashing a pair of 3-pointers from straight ahead around a Matt Thomas three for the Aztecs, and UNLV leads 17-15 with 7:03 to go in the first half.

Darger and Kendall Wallace both deserve a good amount of credit so far for UNLV matching SDSU's tough style. Those two have hit the floor more in this game than I can remember at any point in recent history. Even though these two teams are locked in to play next Thursday, the 'pride on the line' prediction in the pregame blog is certainly holding up.

11:33, first half, SDSU leads 11-9

SAN DIEGO -- UNLV trails by two, but Lon Kruger has to be happy with his team's hustle so far -- an area where UNLV was lacking against Air Force on Wednesday.

By the way, how much of a fluke might that game have been on Senior Night? BYU and Air Force are tied, 30-30, early in the second half in Provo.

But back to this game, UNLV is scrapping for loose balls underneath, and both Tre'Von Willis and René Rougeau benefitted from coming up with those with recent buckets.

Also, Brice Massamba is getting his first first half minutes in who knows how long. He's been very active, as has Kendall Wallace, who drove hard into traffic for a two-point bucket. A very positive effort so far from the Rebs.

15:07, first half, SDSU leads 5-3

SAN DIEGO -- A lot of hesitation so far by the Rebels to really attack the paint, but oddly enough, their only bucket so far was produced in there. Tre'Von Willis drove hard for a layup and was fouled at the same time.

After it fell through, he walked in front of the fans, looked up, nodded his head and dropped his hand down repeatedly to signal that the bucket was good.

That woke the Aztecs up, as Lorrenzo Wade hit a 3-pointer, and a short Richie Williams jumper has SDSU up 5-3 in the early going.

Billy White just checked in for the Aztecs, by the way. No knee brace. Lets see if his 19 field goals converted run continues.

Pregame, part deux

SAN DIEGO -- Well, it's looking more likely that Billy White probably will not play. He's still taking part in warmups and everything, but he is still moving awfully slow.

He's certainly into the atmosphere, though. During layup lines just before Senior Night festivities, as the student section chanted 'Hey, you suck!' towards the Rebels, he mouthed along with them with a big grin on his face.

Still, I just don't see him playing.

Also, this is quite a unique setting tonight. They have dimmed the perimeter lights, and I'm told they'll stay that way all night. Only about the first 6 or 7 rows of seats are lit up. Intimidating for visitors, for sure.

Pregame

SAN DIEGO -- How can you beat this town? Just gorgeous, and the trip tonight is capped with the Rebels (21-8 overall, 9-6 Mountain West) facing the Aztecs (20-8, 10-5) for, well, not really much of anything.

Because of today's earlier results -- New Mexico winning by one at Wyoming and Utah slugging TCU -- it's all but solidified that UNLV and SDSU will meet again at the Thomas & Mack Center to open the Mountain West tournament on Thursday afternoon.

But, still, after the way the first meeting between these two went down -- a 68-66 Aztec overtime win in Vegas last month -- it's a pride thing.

Plus, there is of course still the 'bubble' status of both teams as far as the NCAA tournament's field of 65 is concerned. Who stays and who slides further off?

Right now there are about 1,000 fans in the Cox Arena, but the ones here are already pretty loud and, well, vile towards the visiting Rebels. This already has serious potential to be the toughest atmosphere Lon Kruger's club has faced in conference play.

The biggest story so far is that Billy White, the Green Valley High grad and sophomore forward for the Aztecs, was out warming up lightly with his teammates. He hasn't played in three games since hyperextending his left knee against New Mexico in the opening minute of a 75-49 loss on Feb. 21. He had 12 points and 7 rebounds against the Rebels in early February and was integral on the defensive end.

He was moving around pretty lightly, and it looked like as much of a decoy as it did a real threat, so we shall see.

A sidenote, the Rebels are rockin' some new kicks tonight that they busted out for the first time at Thursday's practice. They're half-black, half-red Nikes with white soles and laces. Everyone but Darris Santee, Brice Massamba and Wink Adams has 'em on tonight.

It's a chilly night inside this arena, very Mack-like. Lets get on with the three big predictions.

1) Picks to click ... For some reason, don't know why, I'm going with Oscar Bellfield, who's been in a stall mode over the past several games. Really since Louisville. I just got a gut feeling when he strolled out. Wonder if he's hit a freshman wall? Miech is flipping the script, and will take SDSU's Kyle Spain.

2) Wink Adams dunks tonight Again, gut feeling.

3) Scores ... I'll take UNLV, 67-65 ... Miech goes SDSU, 68-65. You can take the Aztec alum out of San Diego State, but you can't take the SDSU (or the Sig Ep) out of the Aztec alum.

Talk to you after the tip.

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