‘Nothing to say’: Rebels blow late lead, lose on 5-point play
By all rights, the game should have been finished when Luis Rodriguez sank two free throws with 14 seconds remaining.
The UNLV men’s basketball team held a four-point lead and was seemingly guaranteed an upset win over No. 20 Utah State.
Aggies guard Darius Brown II responded with a deep, contested 3 from the right wing to cut Utah State’s deficit to one when disaster struck UNLV.
Fifth-year forward Kalib Boone was called for a foul while boxing out Utah State forward Great Osobor. The shot was already in the air, so Brown’s 3 counted and Osobor went to the free-throw line.
Osobor, a career 66.5 percent free-throw shooter entering Saturday, nailed both shots to secure a five-point possession for Utah State.
UNLV freshman guard Dedan Thomas Jr. missed a midrange jumper at the buzzer, and the Rebels lost 87-86 as boos erupted around the Thomas & Mack Center, mainly directed at the officials.
“Up four with 14 seconds left, that’s usually — you’re going to win most of those games,” said coach Kevin Kruger, who added he didn’t receive an explanation from the referees for the call.
Lead official Deldre Carr later said in a statement: “The 3-point shot was released prior to the common foul on UNLV. Therefore, the 3-point shot counts and the common foul was penalized with two shots per rule AR 265.”
The Rebels (8-7, 1-2 Mountain West) led for all but eight seconds of the game, but were unable to close out their second win over a ranked team this season. Utah State (16-1, 4-0) extended the nation’s longest active winning streak to 15.
“There’s nothing to say to the guys after a game like that,” Kruger said. “There’s nothing you can tell an athlete and a player after that.”
Rodriguez, a sixth-year wing, led the Rebels with 23 points on 50 percent shooting, including three 3s. He also added a team-best nine rebounds, six coming on the offensive side, and two steals in one of his best all-around performances in a UNLV uniform.
Kalib Boone added 18 points, six rebounds and four steals. Thomas had 10 points and a career-high 11 assists, while junior forward Rob Whaley Jr. scored 11 off the bench. UNLV forced 11 turnovers, which it converted into 16 points.
Osobor scored 24 points, including going 12 of 13 from the charity stripe. Senior Ian Martinez also had 24 for the Aggies, going 6-of-8 from beyond the arc.
“We’re going to move on from it,” Kruger said.
UNLV started off on the front foot. The Rebels took an early 19-10 lead behind Rodriguez and got massive contributions from Whaley. The former junior college transfer scored 10 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the first half while doing a good job on Osobor. The Utah State forward was held to four points on 1-of-5 shooting entering halftime.
The Rebels led 47-40 at the break and might have led by more if it weren’t for Martinez and the Aggies’ 3-point shooting. Utah State went 6 of 11 from deep in the first half despite shooting just 31.5 percent from 3 during the season, with four of Martinez’s 3s coming before the break.
UNLV seemed more than capable of holding off Utah State in the second half. Thomas drew a wild three-point play on a midrange jumper with 17:42 remaining to extend the Rebels’ lead to 58-45.
Utah State stayed within striking distance, however, utilizing a 1-3-1 zone that flustered the UNLV offense midway through the second half. Offensively, the Aggies forced the ball into Osobor in the low post against UNLV’s undersized forwards.
The junior from Bradford, England, scored 20 points in the second half. His first miss from the floor came with 2:24 remaining.
Osobor also put the Rebels in foul trouble. Whaley picked up his fourth foul with almost seven minutes on the clock and was restricted to just eight second-half minutes. Fifth-year wing Keylan Boone got his fourth foul while guarding Osobor with two minutes remaining to set up the final sequence.
“There’s nothing, nothing that makes you feel better after that,” Kruger said.
Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on X.
