Sunday, Jan. 17, 2010 | 2:29 a.m.
Utah vs UNLV
Despite a career-high 27 points from Tre'Von WIllis and a double-double from Chace Stanback, UNLV fell at home to Utah, 73-69, on Saturday night.
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The Rebel Room
UTAH POSTGAME: Utes party like it's 2005
Ryan Greene and Ray Brewer discuss just what went wrong for UNLV in a 73-69 loss to Utah on Saturday night at the Mack, which was the Utes' first victory over the Rebels on their home floor since 2005. Plus, how will the Rebels fare in an upcoming four-game stretch and who is most likely to emerge as the much-needed third consistent offensive threat?
UNLV forward Matt Shaw hit a 3-pointer just 75 seconds into Saturday night's 73-69 loss to Utah.
While the Rebels could have used a few more of those on the night, the lone trey the team put through the rim was just enough to extend the nation's longest streak of consecutive games with a 3-pointer made.
UNLV has hit a three in every game it has played since the NCAA introduced the 3-point line in 1986-87. The streak is now at 756 games.
Entering this season Vanderbilt was second on that list behind UNLV, just 11 games back.
Against the Utes, the Rebels were just 1-of-12 from long range.
The last time UNLV hit only one 3-pointer in a game was in a 56-50 loss at Air Force on Jan. 6, 2007, when the Rebels were just 1-of-18 from deep. The 12 3-point attempts are the fewest by a UNLV team since, oddly enough, last season's 75-65 victory over Utah on Jan. 24 at the Thomas & Mack Center, when the Rebels were 5-of-9.
Inside the numbers
Some numbers of note from Saturday's UNLV loss to Utah ...
• Chace Stanback had 14 points and 10 rebounds for UNLV, making him the first Rebel to post a double-double this season. The last came March 12 last season, when Tre'Von Willis had 11 points and 10 rebounds in a Mountain West Conference tournament quarterfinal loss to San Diego State.
• The five 3-pointers hit by Utah freshman guard Marshall Henderson were a career best.
• Despite Utah's size up front throwing UNLV for a loop on the offensive end, the Rebels outscored the Utes in the paint, 32-24.
• Saturday's tightly contested game featured 13 ties and 13 lead changes.
Largest crowd of the season
Saturday's crowd of 16,594 at the Mack was a season-best through 10 home games to date.
UNLV, which is averaging 13,086 fans per home game, ranks second in average attendance this season out of nine schools in the Mountain West Conference. New Mexico is averaging 13,173, while BYU is bringing in 11,207 spectators per home tilt.
The crowd against Utah partially can be credited to a Kids' Night promotion, which offered tickets starting at $10 to entice families to the arena. Plus, the Rebels typically draw well on Saturdays.
Prior to Saturday, UNLV's best crowd this season was Dec. 17 against Weber State, when 15,715 fans showed up. In total, 130,862 fans have attended UNLV home games this season.
What's on tap?
UNLV faces Colorado State on Wednesday and cannot afford a repeat of last year's letdown in Fort Collins.
The Rams fell to 11-6 overall and 2-1 in league play Saturday, as they were blasted at BYU, 91-47.
However, Tim Miles' club has yet to lose at Moby Arena, and boasts a nice inside-outside duo in freshman guard Dorian Green and junior forward Andy Ogide.
Green leads the Rams in scoring, averaging 13.1 points per game. He's also averaging 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per outing. Meanwhile, Ogide averages 11.9 points and 5.8 boards per contest.
The final word
Tre'Von Willis on his crucial late free-throw miss. The team's top free-throw shooter was asked if it felt off coming out of his hands: "No. It felt good."
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