No. 11 UNLV falls at Wyoming
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In a defensive game, UNLV coach Dave Rice thought it was best not to call a timeout as his team sought to tie or win in the last 22 seconds.
"As good as Wyoming is with their set defense, I thought it was better for us to go ahead," Rice said. "And we got two very good looks. ... No second guessing on that."
UNLV's Anthony Marshall missed a layup with about 5 seconds left and Mike Moser missed a long jumper after grabbing the rebound as the No. 11 Runnin' Rebels saw their five-game win streak snapped 68-66 by the Cowboys on Saturday.
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"I had the opportunity to make some things happen," Marshall said. "I didn't come through like I was supposed to, being one of the leaders on this team."
Rice credited Wyoming for forcing UNLV (21-4, 5-2 Mountain West) into a game in which the Runnin's Rebels shot 49 percent from the field, including 3 of 14 from 3-point range.
"We didn't have our best stuff, but we found a way to keep ourselves in the game and give ourselves a shot at a win, to get an overtime," he said.
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Last week, UNLV won overtime games against Boise State and Air Force.
Leonard Washington and Francisco Cruz scored 16 points apiece for Wyoming, which won its first game against a top 25 team since beating No. 24 Utah in 2000.
Luke Martinez had 15 points — all on 3-pointers — and Adam Waddell scored 14 for Wyoming (18-5, 4-3). The win also snapped a four-game losing streak against UNLV.
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Quintrell Thomas led UNLV with 15 points. Marshall and Oscar Bellfield contributed 12 apiece.
But UNLV, which entered the game averaging 80.6 points a game, had a difficult time running its fast-break offense.
"We just had to sort of ... hold the fort down those first six to eight seconds (of UNLV's possession)," Wyoming coach Larry Shyatt said.
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Wyoming built a 42-36 halftime lead behind a balanced scoring attack that saw four players — led by Martinez' 12 — scoring in double figures. The Cowboys held UNLV's two leading scorers — Moser and Chace Stanback — to just 2 points apiece before the break. Both Moser and Stanback entered the game averaging over 14 points a game, but neither scored until the last 3 minutes of the half. Moser finished the game with 11 points, and Stanback failed to score in the second half.
"I couldn't make a shot," said a frustrated Moser, who was 4 of 12 from the floor. "I didn't know what was going on. I still don't."
The Runnin' Rebels rallied to take a 53-52 lead on a bank shot by Reggie Smith.
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After the teams traded baskets, the Cowboys went on an 8-0 run sparked by two buckets from Washington to go ahead 62-55 with 6:45 left.
Wyoming's JayDee Luster sank a 3-pointer — his only shot from the field for the game — at the 5:43 mark to put Wyoming ahead 67-59.
Shyatt said he had no reservations about Luster taking the long shot.
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UNLV pulled to 67-64 on five unanswered points by Marshall with 1:38 remaining.
Luster sank a free throw before Thomas scored with 52 seconds left to pull UNLV within 2 points. Wyoming milked the shot clock down before Martinez missed his 3-point attempt, setting up the final defensive stand by Wyoming.
"I got to the rim; I had a chance at it; I just didn't connect," Marshall lamented afterward. "I felt like I didn't step up. ... I felt like that's on me."
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Moser pulled down 10 rebounds to grab his 13th double-double of the season.