| |
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
LAS VEGAS (AP) -- UNLV didn't get an automatic NCAA Tournament
bid by blowing out BYU Saturday night to win the Mountain West
Conference championship.
|  | | Mark Dickel scored 10 points for UNLV. |
Mark Dickel doesn't think it matters.
"I don't see how they can keep us out," UNLV's point guard
said. "We had some bad losses early, but we've won seven games in a
row now."
UNLV left nothing to chance in its bid for a tournament berth,
opening with a 26-2 run and going on to rout BYU 79-56 to win the
inaugural Mountain West tournament.
The Runnin' Rebels ran from the start and played relentless
defense, holding BYU scoreless for nearly 10 minutes in the first
half, to win for the 23rd time.
"We made a statement tonight," UNLV coach Bill Bayno said.
"We played a team that was playing its best basketball, and we
played our best basketball."
UNLV (23-7) dominated from the opening tip with a relentless
defense that held BYU to only one field goal and three points in
the first 13:36 of the game. It was the seventh straight win for
the Rebels, who have beaten only one top 25 team this year.
With no automatic berth in the tournament for the new
conference, UNLV had to impress the NCAA selection committee with a
win against a team the Rebels had lost to twice during the regular
season.
They may have done just that, against a team that may have
expended too much energy of its own the night before in beating
instate rival Utah.
"We would have never beaten them tonight," BYU coach Steve
Cleveland said. "We didn't have the energy to match them."
UNLV turned a 2-2 game into a rout by scoring the next 24 points
before a roaring home crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center.
"When it was 9-2 and then 11-2 I kept thinking they (BYU) were
going to make a run, but our guys never let them," Bayno said.
Trevor Diggs scored the first five points for UNLV, part of his
game-high 20 for UNLV. Dalron Johnson had 18 and and Kaspars
Kambala added 15 for the Runnin' Rebels.
Mekeli Wesley scored 19 and and Terrel Lyday had 18 for BYU
(20-10).
UNLV led by as many as 38 points in the second half, before BYU
closed the gap some against UNLV's reserves.
"We didn't want to lose to them three times so we were really
focused," Kambala said.
UNLV led 17-2 before missing a shot, and was up 28-3 before
Wesley hit a layup with 6:24 left in the half for BYU's first field
goal since the opening minute of play.
During that period, UNLV's smothering man-to-man defense held
BYU (20-10) to one field goal in 13 tries, while the Cougars turned
the ball over another eight times.
"It's pretty uncharacteristic of us," Cleveland said. "That
hasn't happened to us all year."
At one point, BYU didn't score for nearly 10 minutes.
BYU recovered to make four out of its last five shots of the
half, but with UNLV dominating on the boards, the Rebels opened the
biggest lead of the game, 43-14, before Wesley hit a basket as time
ran out to make it a 27-point halftime lead.
UNLV went on another 15-4 run to open the second half, erasing
any thoughts BYU had of mounting a comeback. Johnson's jumper from
the free throw line with 15 minutes left in the game gave UNLV its
biggest lead of the night, 58-20.
| |
ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
BYU Clubhouse
Nevada Las Vegas Clubhouse
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Mark Dickel has the Rebels off and runnin'.
avi: 796 k
RealVideo: | 28.8 | 56.6 | ISDN
Dalron Johnson is at the tail end of the alley-oop.
avi: 660 k
RealVideo: | 28.8 | 56.6 | ISDN
|
