At random times, UNLV junior Wink Adams senses he is riding an unstoppable roll. Every shot he releases feels true off his fingertips.
"It's unexpected. It just happens," he said. "I get into a groove."
Adams sometimes finds that groove during a morning practice in a quiet gym. He made it happen at the perfect time Saturday, when the drama, noise level and stakes were high.
He took control of the game with a sensational stretch of big plays, carrying the Rebels to the Mountain West Conference Tournament championship and an automatic NCAA Tournament berth for the second straight year.
Adams scored a game-high 23 points to lift second-seeded UNLV to a 76-61 victory over top-seeded Brigham Young before a raucous crowd of 16,096 at the Thomas & Mack Center.
"The crowd was into it and you start playing off momentum," Adams said. "You really don't know what you're doing, but you just know you want to score again."
Adams scored 14 straight points for the Rebels over a 41/2-minute stretch late in the second half. He was named tournament Most Valuable Player, an honor that was not unexpected.
Senior point guard Curtis Terry scored 20 points, Joe Darger added 11 and Rene Rougeau finished with eight points and 10 rebounds as UNLV (26-7) put away its biggest rival with a dominant second half.
Adams, Terry and Rougeau were joined on the all-tournament team by BYU's Lee Cummard and Utah's Luke Nevill.
The Rebels roll into to the NCAA Tournament on an emotional high. They will discover their draw when the tournament's 65-team field is announced at 3 p.m. today.
Despite a determined effort by arena security guards, fans flooded the court after the final buzzer and mobbed UNLV's players in a wild celebration.
"The atmosphere out there was unbelievable for a championship game," said Terry, who made 11 of 14 free throws.
The Rebels were behind by 11 points midway through the first half and 37-33 at halftime. But they opened the second half with a 12-1 burst and never trailed again.
Darger made two 3-pointers during the run, both off assists from Terry. On the second, Terry drove the lane and flipped an over-the-shoulder pass to Darger, who was set in the corner and made a 3 to put UNLV up 45-38 with 17:20 left.
"Joe was hitting some big-time shots and he got it started," Adams said. "Joe had me fired up and we were getting stops on defense. I just wanted to get a piece of the action."
The Cougars fought back to tie it at 47 on Trent Plaisted's jumper in the lane with 12:35 to go.
Terry scored on a free throw and layup, and Rougeau hit two free throws after drawing Plaisted's fourth foul. It was 55-50 before Adams started his scoring spree with two free throws at the 6:48 mark.
Adams connected on three 3-pointers -- two with the 6-foot-11-inch Plaisted flying out to defend -- to extend the Rebels' lead from 58-54 to 67-58. He added a jumper over Cummard to complete his 14-point outburst with 2:20 to go.
"He's a terrific player," Cougars coach Dave Rose said of Adams, who shot 8-for-15 from the field, including 4-for-5 on 3-pointers, and 3-for-4 on free throws. "There were a couple defensive mistakes during that string, but for the most part, he was just making big plays.
"We were contesting his shot. He was making big plays at a big time in the game."
Adams totaled 72 points in three tournament games. He scored 29 in an 89-88 victory over Texas Christian on Thursday and 20 in a 61-55 victory over Utah on Friday.
"Wink is not shy about stepping up there," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. "He likes that role and that responsibility.
"He knocked down that first shot. The next two or three he had in rhythm, and I think everyone fully expected them to go in. It was just a great stretch run at crunch time."
Freshman guard Jimmer Fredette scored 17 points for BYU (27-7). Cummard had 11 before fouling out with 1:49 remaining.
Jonathan Tavernari, a Bishop Gorman High School product, scored the Cougars' first eight points and finished with 10. Plaisted, defended by Darger and Rougeau, was held to nine points and nine rebounds.
"UNLV is a great team and they just came out and played the second half stronger than we did, and that was the whole difference in the game," Tavernari said. "In the first half, we were the aggressors."
The Rebels held a 36-25 edge in rebounds as senior forward Corey Bailey grabbed a game-high 11.
After losing five seniors from last year's MWC tournament championship team, UNLV was supposed to be in a rebuilding year -- a thought not lost on the reflective Kruger.
"We'll look back on this group with great satisfaction," he said, "because they accomplished something people didn't expect them to do."
Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2907.
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