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No. 11 UNLV loses at Wyoming, 68-66
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Andy Carpenean/The Associated Press
UNLV forward Mike Moser (43) guards Wyoming's Leonard Washington on Saturday at Laramie, Wyo. Washington scored 16 points, powering the Cowboys to a 68-66 victory.
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UNLV guard Oscar Bellfield gives a thumbs-up gesture against Wyoming. Bellfield had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists in the Rebels' 68-66 defeat. Andy Carpenean/The Associated Press
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Wyoming center Adam Waddell (15) goes up for the tipoff against UNLV's Brice Massamba during an NCAA college basketball game Saturday at the Arena-Auditorium in Laramie, Wyo. Andy Carpenean/The Associated Press
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Updated: Feb. 5, 2012 | 8:51 a.m.
LARAMIE, Wyo. -- Instead of crying for a foul, Anthony Marshall wanted the blame for losing the game. It was a nice but unnecessary gesture made after UNLV was stinging from an ugly loss.
"I feel like that's on me," Marshall said. "I had an opportunity to make some things happen, but I just didn't come through."
Marshall missed an off-balance layup with 4.7 seconds left, and Mike Moser missed a jumper from just inside the 3-point line with two seconds to go as the 11th-ranked Rebels fell to Wyoming 68-66 on Saturday.
Billed by many nationally as the best team in the West, UNLV was at its worst on the road. A team that runs wild on its home floor once again got tamed away from it.
The Rebels (21-4, 5-2) were knocked out of a tie for first in the Mountain West Conference, and they watched fans storm the Arena-Auditorium court in celebration after the Cowboys (18-5, 4-3) stopped a 19-game losing streak against ranked opponents.
"We didn't have our best stuff," coach Dave Rice said, and that has become UNLV's theme on the road.
The Rebels played with fire but escaped unharmed in recent overtime wins at Air Force and Boise State. This time, the bottom line was a bitter setback that puts their league regular-season title plans on hold at the halfway point.
Junior forward Quintrell Thomas, who came off the bench to post a season-high 15 points, dunked to pull UNLV within two points with 52 seconds left, but that was the last score of the game.
Luke Martinez missed a 3-pointer with 25 seconds left, and the Cowboys dug in defensively as Rice decided against using a timeout.
"As good as Wyoming is with its set defense, I thought it was better for us to go ahead," Rice said. "No second-guessing on that."
With the clock down to eight seconds, the left-handed Marshall drove the left side of the lane and drew contact as he jumped.
Was he fouled? "Yeah. Definitely," Moser said.
Marshall's shot bounced off the rim, and Thomas rebounded and threw the ball to Moser in the right corner. His shot was off at the buzzer.
"I kind of rushed it," Moser said. "I didn't really know how much time was on the clock."
Marshall, who had 12 points and six rebounds, shrugged off a question about possibly being fouled on his layup attempt, saying, "That's not for me to decide. I've got to make that no matter what."
The Rebels put themselves at the mercy of an official's whistle at the end by playing with little emotion and focus for long stretches of the first 39 minutes. They trailed 42-36 after allowing Wyoming center Adam Waddell to scrap for an offensive rebound and score before the halftime buzzer.
Marshall's jumper in the lane put UNLV on top 55-54 with 9:28 to go, but it never led again. Martinez made a 3-pointer that started to swing the momentum in the Cowboys' favor.
Not only did the Rebels misfire on 11 of 14 3-pointers, they failed to pay attention to detail on the defensive end and seemed to fall asleep on routine plays. On an inbounds pass under the basket, Leonard Washington was left wide open for a layup that gave Wyoming a 62-55 lead with 6:45 remaining.
JayDee Luster's 3 with 5:44 left was the Cowboys' final field goal, giving them a 67-59 lead, but that margin proved to be just enough.
Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt put four players at half court on his team's free throws to rest his players and guard against UNLV's transition attack. The Rebels had 34 points in the paint but zero on the fast break.
"We played that slow ball that we're not accustomed to, and that was tough," said Moser, who finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. But he also had five turnovers and shot two airball 3s in the first half.
"I couldn't make a shot. I don't know what was going on," Moser said.
Oscar Bellfield scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half. Senior forward Chace Stanback, UNLV's second-leading scorer at 14.2 points per game, missed his only two field-goal attempts and had two points.
Washington and Francisco Cruz scored 16 apiece for the Cowboys. Martinez had 15 on five 3-pointers.
"We're a tired basketball team," said Rice, who made no excuses for snow-related travel issues that delayed the Rebels' arrival until 12:30 a.m. Saturday.
UNLV gets a break before hosting first-place San Diego State on Saturday, and an upset Marshall tried to find another positive.
"It's disappointing," he said, "but better now than in March."
Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.
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Just a question for Dave Rice... If you're driving to the hole and either getting points or drawing fouls, why start launching from beyond the arc with every possession? UNLV was able to drive at will to the inside, either scoring or drawing fouls. Should have stuck to that until they stopped you, which they probably wouldn't have done so.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own set of facts...The fact is that Tark-Grgurich-Warkentien & the Rebs never walked out of Laramie with a win back in the day...My opinion is that losing in Laramie is not a disaster...Move on Rebs; get the Aztecs on Saturday.
Iconoclast, I do agree with you in that the Rebels seem to have some issues on the road this year, especially earlier in the year (Wichita St and Wisconsin). As for Boise, although at the bottom of the league, they were within 1 in-and-out basket of winning AT SDSU! Maybe they aren't as bad as what we probably all thought, they were 9-1 at home before we got there. And speaking of SDSU, yes, we could have won that game, and then they turn around and get blown out by CSU, who we in turn blew out. The MWC is really good this year, ranked 6th, barely behind the ACC, and is even getting some respect today from ESPN. And although the Orleans is in our back yard, in the last few years the Rebels have not done well there, they've had major problems shooting, and UNC had just as many fans there as UNLV did. Illinois has been in and out of the rankings, and as you pointed out for the Orleans, the United Center is in their back yard. But they ARE neutral courts, and if the Rebels actually do end up in Albuquerque, it will not be unfamiliar to them as it may be to any other teams sent there. I'm sure the UNM fans will get behind the Rebs when they are not playing the Lobos, they want to see the MWC succeed, it's in their best interests. With all due respect, I think the Rebels will do well in the tournament, but before that, I would definitely like to see them get their minds set in a positive direction on the road to finish the conference, their seeming lack of confidence is the only real problem they have when away. But again, just my opinion, and no disrespect to you with yours.
We may not win very well on the road, but we usually win big at home. I predict that next Saturday will be a blowout and the Aztecs lose. Sorry Aztec Fan
For John. Higley: I will attempt to make my point succinctly. The numbers don't lie. This team drops at least two levels on the road. Be honest with yourself. Do you really think a team as good as this one appears to be should struggle against Air Force? Boise state? I do not know what it is but this team cannot play on the road with any level of effectiveness. We even outshot those chumps yesterday and lost. Why? Panic under the pressure of not sleeping in your own bed? Don't know, but the numbers don't lie. Rather than gee shucks, oh well the rebels are alls well present a counter argument. Otherwise, since you don't want to trade, fade.
No one's seen Stanback in any hot tubs around town, right? Why is it the Rebels don't cover the spread on road games? Hope to God not, but you gotta wonder.
Just in case no one is paying attention. the big east is playing two games on Sunday, the ACC is playing one game on Sunday, and the Big 10 is playing three games on Sunday. What is going on? Is Sunday becoming the new way to get the television spotlight in College sports?
close game
Hey theiconoclast, I read your comment twice and I still don't have a clue what you're talking about? You ramble on about different stuff and you failed to make your point.
For 4UNLV, this is true,but I measured my comments considering this fact. The Orleans is hardly a neutral court. It is in our backyard. One of the sweet sixteen sites is Albuquerque, an altitude site. The one neutral site, Chicago, we got what I was talking about, a team playing on the road crappyier than us. I am not trying to denigrate this team. I pulled for them at every point. Am possess two degrees.i contribute my home to the film department. I worked there for ten years. But let's face it, a trend is a friend. Air Force and Boise force us to OT? UCSB to double OT! Witchita State a 20 pt. blowout? We should have beaten the snot out of the two schools posing as D 1 and ,ok, I'll take the loss to WSU, but not by 20 points. Both the Wisconsin and SDSU games(sorry aztecfan) were both winnable and we should have at least split, beating SDSU. As I said, a trend is a friend. Faith comes when logic runs out. Logic prevails. Start lighting the candles and saying your prayers. They will need them. Either way, I will be cheering to the end.