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Northern Iowa guard's 25-foot 3-pointer KOs Rebels
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John Locher/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Matt Shaw of UNLV walks off the court after losing to the University of Northern Iowa in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament in Oklahoma City on Thursday, March 18, 2010. » Buy this photo
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John Locher/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
UNLV's Anthony Marshall (3) tries to block a shot by Kwadzo Ahelegbe of Northern Iowa during the teams' first-round NCAA Tournament Midwest Region game Thursday at Oklahoma City. A tiebreaking 3-pointer by Ali Farokhmanesh with 4.9 seconds left gave Northern Iowa a 69-66 victory. » Buy this photo
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John Locher/LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Chace Stanback of UNLV pulls down a rebound over a Northern Iowa player during the Rebels' 69-66 loss in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday at Oklahoma City. Stanback, a sophomore forward, had 11 points and a team-high six rebounds. » Buy this photo
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Center Brice Massamba deals with UNLV's loss in the postgame locker room.
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Slide show: UNLV vs. Northern Iowa
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NORTHERN IOWA - 69
UNLV - 66
KEY: Panthers guard Ali Farokhmanesh made a tiebreaking, 25-foot 3-pointer from the left wing with 4.9 seconds to play and scored a game-high 17 points to oust the Rebels from the NCAA Tournament.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Mar. 19, 2010 | 8:43 a.m.
OKLAHOMA CITY -- As the clock ticked toward zero, Ali Farokhmanesh said he had "no idea" he was about to take a shot he would remember for a lifetime. But when he released it, he knew it was true.
"The shot felt good as soon as it left my hands," the Northern Iowa guard said.
UNLV junior Tre'Von Willis watched in disbelief as Farokhmanesh launched a 25-foot jumper.
"No way. I definitely was thinking overtime," said Willis, who ran out to defend. "But the kid hit the shot, and here we are now."
Farokhmanesh's long 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds remaining broke a tie and the Rebels' hearts and lifted Northern Iowa to a 69-66 victory over UNLV on Thursday in an NCAA Tournament first-round game at the Ford Center.
The Panthers (29-4) won their first NCAA tourney game since 1990 and advanced to face top-seeded Kansas on Saturday.
The parting shot by Farokhmanesh sent the Rebels, the No. 8 seed in the Midwest Region, home with a 25-9 finish to the season.
"It's disappointing to lose at all, but to go out like that is horrific," UNLV freshman Anthony Marshall said. "A big-time player made a big-time shot for them."
The Rebels' Oscar Bellfield sank a tying 3-pointer with 37 seconds remaining, leaving Northern Iowa the opportunity to milk the clock and get the last shot.
Point guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe fended off UNLV's pressure near midcourt, the ball was rotated to Farokhmanesh on the left wing, and his shot over Willis spelled doom for the Rebels.
Bellfield pushed the ball upcourt before it was swatted away with 1.6 seconds left. UNLV coach Lon Kruger used his final timeout to design a play for Willis. Inbounding under the Rebels' basket, Bellfield lobbed a pass to the top of the key for Willis, who couldn't get loose from the Panthers' Lucas O'Rear and failed to get off a 3-point try in time.
"We had 1.6 seconds, a pretty good amount of time to get my feet under me and hit the shot. I didn't have my balance, and the clock ran out on us," Willis said. "It feels awful right now after a first-round exit."
Farokhmanesh, a 6-foot senior, made 5 of 9 3-pointers and finished with a game-high 17 points for Northern Iowa. Ahelegbe scored four of his 13 points in the final three minutes.
Junior forward Matt Shaw led UNLV with 14 points, and Bellfield and Willis each scored 13. Shaw had 12 points and Willis 11 to lift the Rebels to a 36-35 halftime lead.
Kendall Wallace's 3-pointer put UNLV ahead 48-47 with 11:50 remaining, but the Panthers scored the next six points on a pair of 3s by Farokhmanesh. Adam Koch made two free throws and converted a three-point play to push Northern Iowa's lead to 58-49 with 7:16 remaining.
The Rebels responded to that 11-1 run, though, and Chace Stanback's baseline jumper trimmed the deficit to 58-56 with 5:23 to go.
Kruger's plan to use pressure defense and trapping to disrupt the Panthers worked for the most part, as UNLV scored 17 points off Northern Iowa's 16 turnovers.
But the Panthers helped their cause tremendously at the free-throw line, where they shot 20-for-23 and made all 11 in the second half.
Jordan Eglseder, Northern Iowa's 7-foot center, had nine points and 10 rebounds, but he was invisible after halftime.
"We were down nine, and the guys battled to get back into it," Kruger said. "I was really proud of their fight. I was proud of them all year."
The Rebels leaned on Willis' scoring most of the season, but he shot 5-for-15, including 1-for-7 in the second half.
"I had good shots. Most of the misses were in-and-outs," Willis said. "This was really a good group, and it's sad to send off two seniors that were great for us all season."
UNLV loses seniors Darris Santee and Steve Jones but returns all five starters from Thursday's game. That group includes Stanback, a sophomore forward, who had 11 points and six rebounds.
"You hate to go out like this," Stanback said. "It's definitely devastating. You could see it on everybody's faces after the shot went in at the end."
Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.
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 tries to block a shot by Kwadzo Ahelegbe of Northern Iowa during the teams' first-round NCAA Tournament Midwest Region game Thursday at Oklahoma City. A tiebreaking 3-pointer by Ali Farokhmanesh with 4.9 seconds left gave Northern Iowa a 69-66 victory.){kind=link}
WAIT TILL NEXT YEAR, WE ARE GONNA BE GREAT! THAT'S IF THE GOOD LORDS WILLING AND THE CREEK DON'T RISE.
HERE'S TO HOPIN AND A PRAYIN, WISHIN AND WANTIN. OH LASTLY AND DON'T FORGET IF THE BIG GUY WERE GONNA SIGN DOESN'T GO TO ANOTHER TEAM AT THE LAST MINUTE!
IT HAPPENED TO MY BROTHERS ALL SEASON LONG. THEY JUST PLAYED AT THE OTHER TEAMS LEVEL. IF THEY WERE GOOD WE WAS GOOD, IF THEY WAS BAD WE PLAYED BAD. TEAMS THAT DOMINATE, DO JUST THAT DOMINATE THE GAME. THEY'LL MATURE A LITTLE BY NEXT YEAR AND POSSIBLY RECRUIT A BIG MAN AND JUST MAYBE THEY CAN ALL MESH AND DOMINATE. THEY WAS STILL GREAT IN A REBUILDING YEAR!
THANX,
RAY RAY
Three items of concern from this team and most teams that we have had since LK's arrival.
(1)Although the defense picks up full court most times we don't really press. If the Rebels would have played defense the entire game like they played the last 7:00 minutes it wouldn't have been tied with 30 seconds remaining. Isn't that the reason we play so many players, is to be fresh the entire game. Solid defense is about effort, not talent.
(2) The offense appears to be a single play. High pick and roll and then see what develops. That is great in the NBA when you only have 24 seconds to get a shot off, but in college you can run an offense that is more predicated on player movement (without the ball) in an effort to get higher percentage shots.
(3)Free throw shooting is horrible. I don't know how you can be a D-1 player and shoot below 75% from the line and especially if your a ball handling guard. I would tell both Bellfield and Marshall not to come back if they are not willing to spend the time necessary to improve their FT shooting. Its all about routine, I could actually teach my mother how to shoot a better percentage then these two.
When we make it to the big dance and schools like uconn and north carolina and ucla can't even make it i'm proud especially without any real seniors. Go Rebs and watch out next year. Coach Kruger can stay as long as he wants