One-man show a flop

SALT LAKE CITY -- If not for the efforts of Tre'Von Willis, UNLV could have been blown out and embarrassed Wednesday night.

Willis scored 20 of his 32 points in the second half to keep a ragged game close. But the Rebels still were tagged with an embarrassing loss, 66-61 to Utah before a crowd of 9,122 at the Huntsman Center.

And although he didn't deserve it, Willis asked for the blame.

"I feel like I let my teammates down a little bit tonight," the junior guard said. "We fought so hard to get back in the game, and I feel like I let the team down."

Willis missed a potential go-ahead 3-pointer with 18 seconds left. He also missed a potential tying layup while tightly defended on a drive with 47 seconds to go.

But without Willis' work in the first 39 minutes of the game, the final minute would not have mattered.

"Tre fought really hard," coach Lon Kruger said after a third consecutive defeat dropped UNLV (19-7, 7-5) to fourth in the Mountain West Conference.

Carlon Brown, who led the Utes with 18 points, was not especially complimentary of Willis' teammates.

When asked if he thought the Rebels, after two losses and with their NCAA Tournament hopes on the ropes, played like a team motivated and ready to fight, Brown said, "I don't think they did in the first half. In the second half, they showed more of a sense of urgency, and Willis was getting into it with the crowd.

"I expected more from them, but I'm not going to say nothing. I'm going to take the win."

Utah (12-13, 5-6) swept the regular-season series, a fact that damages UNLV's postseason prospects.

"It's a lost opportunity," Kruger said. "Each loss is equally disappointing."

Brown beat the Rebels defense on the dribble drive almost whenever he wanted and made 8 of 12 field goals. His driving bank shot put the Utes up 63-61 with 1:41 remaining.

"I don't think they were ready for me to drive the ball as hard as I did," Brown said.

Uninspired and sloppy, UNLV trailed by 12 points midway through the first half and 35-27 at halftime.

The Rebels rallied from a 48-39 deficit to tie the score at 59 on Willis' fadeaway bank shot with 3:30 left. The Utes' Jay Watkins scored on a jumper in the lane. Oscar Bellfield missed on a drive, but Darris Santee gathered the rebound and scored to pull UNLV even at 61.

After Brown's bank shot and Willis' blown layup, Utah's Luka Drca missed the front end of a one-and-one with 47 seconds to go. Kruger called two timeouts and set up a play for Willis, who faked 6-foot-11-inch Kim Tillie into the air. But Willis shot an off-balance 3 instead of driving an open lane to the rim.

"We wanted to get it in his hands," Kruger said. "If he could jab and shoot, great. He had a little window there, although it was a contested shot."

Marshall Henderson made two free throws with 17 seconds remaining for the Utes, who shot 27-for-51 (52.9 percent) from the field.

The Rebels were without forward Matt Shaw, who said he sprained his left ankle on a "freak accident" in pregame warm-ups. Kruger had planned to start Shaw, who rolled his ankle while landing after a dunk.

But Kruger said that was no excuse for UNLV losing to a sub.-500 Utah team for the second time in a month.

Willis was the only Rebels player to score in double figures. Chace Stanback had nine points, and Bellfield, Santee and Justin Hawkins each scored six.

"This is just very frustrating," said Willis, who shot 11-for-19 from the field and 7-for-9 on free throws. He made three 3-pointers. "It's more frustrating that we don't fight for a whole 40 minutes. We came out so flat."

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