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March 18, 2024

Rebels Basketball:

Blog: UNLV capitalizes on mistake, fights its way to 79-77 win against Utah State

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Steve Marcus

UNLV guard Cody Doolin (45) is congratulated by Jelan Kendrick after sinking his first of two free throws in overtime at the Thomas & Mack Center on Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015.

Updated Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015 | 7:38 p.m.

UNLV 79, Utah State 77, Overtime

Game over

David Collette scored 24 points on 12-of-16 shooting, but the only thing the Utah State freshman will be able to think about is his bizarre foul that handed UNLV a lifeline and the 79-77 overtime victory tonight at the Mack.

2015: UNLV Rebels vs. Utah State Aggies

Utah State guard JoJo McGlaston (24) is shut down by UNLV guard Rashad Vaughn (1) during a game at the Thomas & Mack Center Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015. Launch slideshow »

Utah State had the ball for the final shot, and when it missed UNLV's Cody Doolin did a great job boxing out the much bigger Collette. And then, for some reason, Collette reached around Doolin with both arms, the way you would if you need to commit a foul to stop the clock. Both teams were in the double bonus, and Doolin knocked down both free throws, though he attempted to intentionally miss the second one.

It was an unfortunate end for Collette, who played a great game, but it was exactly what the Rebels needed after looking like they were about to lose another close game at home. UNLV had to battle back and needed a couple of Aggies missed free throws to keep them in contention, and when they got it Pat McCaw came through with a basket to tie the game and sent it to overtime with 1.9 seconds left. McCaw came up huge again in overtime, hitting a 3-pointer to tie the game after UNLV had quickly fallen behind by six in the extra session.

The Rebels committed only four turnovers and played great down the stretch, including hitting 18-of-23 free throws. Overall their second-half shooting was bad (32 percent) and many players looked like they weren't trying hard enough, but when it mattered most they came up with enough plays to snap the three-game losing streak and get to 2-5 in Mountain West play with a road trip to Reno on tap Tuesday.

Check lasvegassun.com later tonight for a full report from the Rebels' victory.

Last Wednesday at home against New Mexico felt a lot like a must-win game, so where does another loss — the third straight and sixth out of seven — leave the Rebels now?

UNLV (10-9, 1-5) hosts Utah State (11-7, 4-2) tonight at 5 at the Thomas & Mack Center. The game will air on CBS Sports Network.

Even before losing to the Lobos, the Rebels were down to winning the conference tournament as their only viable entry into the NCAA Tournament. But the way the schedule set up — home games against New Mexico, Utah State and Air Force, with a road trip to UNR squeezed in there — UNLV had a legit chance to be above .500 in Mountain West play by the end of the month.

That’s not too special, but it’s at least something, and now UNLV can’t even accomplish that. Now the Rebels simply need a win, any win. Considering how bad San Jose State is, it feels like UNLV hasn’t even won a conference game yet. In a year when the league is as open and winnable as ever before, that’s especially frustrating for fans and those inside the program.

It doesn’t have to remain that way, of course. UNLV is in this position for many reasons, but a major one is its inability to close games. As I detailed a bit yesterday, the Rebels are often coming undone at the end of games, either giving up offensive rebounds or simply failing to get stops down the stretch, when the pressure is turned up and errors are amplified.

It’s such a persistent problem that you can’t point to one thing being the issue over all the games, though one of UNLV’s problems the last time out was being down starter Goodluck Okonoboh. The freshman big man is suffering from plantar fasciitis in his right foot and hasn’t practiced much since injuring it last weekend at San Diego State, but coach Dave Rice said Okonoboh would dress and be available today. However, Rice wouldn’t say what kind of minutes Okonoboh would be able to play, so his contributions are an unknown at this point.

Whether he plays or not, the Rebels can’t afford to give up as many possessions as they have been through turnovers and allowing offensive rebounds. They’re simply not good enough at the offensive end to make up for those kinds of mistakes, as evidenced by the recent struggles.

One thing that helps is Utah State is the second-worst offensive rebounding team in the country, according to kenpom.com, and the Aggies give up a lot of offensive rebounds too. If the Rebels are ever going to stake their claim in that category, this is the team to do it against.

Bern’s prediction: The Rebels are going to win eventually, so it might as well be today, but as usual it probably won’t be easy. UNLV 67, Utah State 64

Taylor Bern can be reached at 948-7844 or [email protected]. Follow Taylor on Twitter at twitter.com/taylorbern.

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