Late 3-pointer floors UNLV

A brutal defensive battle, one which UNLV led most of the way, was decided on one offensive play. McClellan’s 3-pointer with 26 seconds remaining floored the Rebels.

“It was a very tough, physical game, and we hadn’t been hitting shots. I just happened to be the one to hit the big shot,” McClellan said after lifting the 19th-ranked Wildcats to a 52-49 victory on Wednesday night before 13,676 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

UNLV (7-3) led by eight points with 13 minutes to play. Arizona (8-2) took its first lead of the game with 1:18 left.

Wink Adams, who scored 19 points to lead the Rebels, made a 3-pointer with 4:18 left to give his team a 48-44 lead.

But an offensive meltdown followed as UNLV missed all seven of its field-goal attempts in the final four minutes.

“It was real intense. This is the best game we’ve played, and we had a chance to win,” Adams said. “It’s tough to lose.”

McClellan’s shot, released from deep in the corner by the Arizona bench, put the Wildcats ahead 52-48.

The Rebels’ Curtis Terry drove to the basket, was fouled and hit one of two free throws with 21 seconds left. After a steal by Adams, Terry missed a potential tying 3-pointer with eight seconds to go.

Jordan Hill, Arizona’s 6-foot-10-inch forward, was fouled on the rebound but missed the front end of a one-and-one with 3.5 seconds remaining.

After a UNLV timeout, Terry took the inbounds pass, dribbled about 20 feet and missed a 30-footer at the buzzer.

“You can’t be comfortable with losing, obviously, but the effort was great,” Rebels coach Lon Kruger said. “It was a heck of a basketball game. Both teams really fought hard.”

A long-range shot decided the game, but it was Hill’s dominant work inside that kept the Wildcats within striking distance. Hill finished with 16 points and 19 rebounds.

Jerryd Bayless and Chase Budinger, Arizona’s top two scorers, were held to a combined 14 points on 4-for-20 shooting. Bayless scored eight points, 12 below his average, and Budinger had six points, 11 below his average.

The Wildcats owned the paint with a 48-31 rebounding edge. Hill, defended mostly by 6-7 forward Joe Darger, had eight offensive rebounds.

“Hill is very long and talented,” Darger said. “When he got the ball close to the basket, there’s not much you can do.”

Adams had 14 points at halftime as UNLV held a 30-28 lead. Darger’s two free throws extended it to 40-32 with 13 minutes to go.

Adams scored his first points of the second half on a spinning drive into the lane with 8:08 left. His 3-pointer about four minutes later was the Rebels’ last field goal.

“Coming down the stretch, we just weren’t hitting shots,” said Darger, who missed a 17-foot jumper with the score tied and 1:30 on the clock.

Arizona guard Nic Wise drove the baseline, was fouled by Darger and hit one free throw for a 49-48 lead, the Wildcats’ first of the game.

Adams had an acrobatic layup attempt roll off the rim with 50 seconds left, setting up McClellan for his decisive shot.

“I kept telling the guys, ‘Somebody is going to hit a big shot,’ ” Arizona interim coach Kevin O’Neill said. “McClellan stepped up and gave us a chance to win the game.”

The Rebels shot 31 percent from the field but forced 15 turnovers and committed just six.

“As disappointed as we are with the result, we feel like we’ve made progress,” said Kruger, whose team next hosts Tennessee-Martin on Saturday.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or (702) 387-2907.

No. 19 Arizona 52

UNLV 49

Arizona Min FG-A FT-A R A PF TP

Budinger 31 2-10 1-2 8 1 0 6

Hill 38 6-12 4-7 19 1 2 16

Brielmaier 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Bayless 33 2-10 2-2 4 1 3 8

McClellan 40 5-10 0-0 4 1 2 12

Dillon 5 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Wise 36 3-9 1-3 4 7 3 9

Horne 16 0-1 1-2 2 1 1 1

TOTALS 200 18-52 9-16 48 12 11 52

Field goals–34.6%. Free throws–56.3%.

Three-point goals–7-24 (Budinger 1-7, Bayless 2-7, McClellan 2-7). Team rebounds–7. Blocked shots–4 (McClellan 3, Budinger 1). Turnovers–15 (Wise 4, Bayless 3, Budinger 3). Steals–4 (Wise 2, Bayless 1, Hill 1).

UNLV Min FG-A FT-A R A PF TP

Bailey 25 0-2 0-0 3 0 3 0

Terry 35 2-12 1-2 2 4 3 6

Darger 33 4-14 4-4 4 2 4 13

Adams 34 7-16 2-2 8 4 0 19

Rougeau 36 4-6 0-0 4 0 2 9

Rutledge 6 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Roberson 4 1-4 0-0 0 0 1 2

Wallace 10 0-3 0-0 2 1 0 0

Lawrence 11 0-0 0-0 2 0 1 0

Shaw 6 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0

TOTALS 200 18-58 8-10 31 11 14 49

Field goals–31%. Free throws–80%.

Three-point goals–5-19 (Terry 1-8, Adams 3-5, Darger 1-5, Wallace 0-1). Team rebounds–6. Blocked shots–3 (Rougeau 2, Terry 1). Turnovers–6 (Terry 3, Adams 1, Rougeau 1, Team 1). Steals–11 (Adams 4, Terry 2, Bailey 1, Darger 1, Rougeau 1, Rutledge 1, Lawrence 1).

A–13,676. Officials–David Hall, Dick Cartmell, Bob Staffen. Technical fouls–None

Arizona 28 24 — 52

UNLV 30 19 — 49