Rebels fail to find way home

Luka Drca made two free throws with 19 seconds to go and Utah upset the Rebels 73-69 on Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Carlon Brown scored 16 points and Marshall Henderson had 15 to help the Utes deal UNLV a damaging loss in the Mountain West Conference.

Drca scored all 10 of his points in the second half, when he hit 8 of 8 free throws.

“Anytime you let one slip at home, you hate that,” Rebels coach Lon Kruger said. “It was a battle that went down to the wire, and they made a couple more plays late.”

Willis scored a career-high 27 points, but he missed a free throw that would have tied the game at 68 with 40 seconds remaining. Willis made the first free throw, but his second attempt was short.

“It felt good,” said Willis, who made 13 of 16 free throws. “I’m definitely disappointed in myself.”

Chace Stanback finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds for UNLV (14-4, 2-2 MWC).

The Rebels missed 12 free throws and shot 1-for-12 from 3-point range. Matt Shaw made UNLV’s only 3 just over a minute into the game.

It’s often true that close games are won or lost at the free-throw line. Drca and 7-foot-3-inch David Foster clinched it at the line for Utah (9-8, 2-1).

Foster was a defensive menace, blocking six shots and altering several more as the Rebels guards drove to the basket and usually came up empty.

With a season-high crowd of 16,594 roaring, Foster calmly made two free throws with 34 seconds to go to put the Utes up 70-67.

“It was incredible. It was so loud. The adrenaline was flowing and I knew I had to make those shots because it was winning time,” said Foster, who finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

“I had supreme confidence. I looked over at the bench and all my teammates had confidence in me. My parents were here, and I looked over and saw them and it helped a lot.”

Oscar Bellfield’s layup off an inbounds pass pulled the Rebels within 70-69 with 22 seconds remaining.

After Drca was fouled and sank his free throws, Willis missed a tightly defended 3-point try from the corner.

Shawn Glover rebounded, was fouled and hit the second free throw to seal an improbable victory for the Utes, who were double-digit underdogs.

“These guys just toughed it out. We grinded it out and made enough plays to win against a really tough team,” Utah coach Jim Boylen said. “I thought our defense at times was awesome and our 3-point defense was very good.

“We’ve had unbelievable games here against UNLV. I think we’ve had the lead with under five minutes to go every time. We talked a lot about closing it out this time. Free-throw shooting is focus and toughness.”

The Utes were tougher on the defensive end and controlled most of the game as a result.

The score was tied 13 times and the lead changed 13 times, but the Rebels never led by more than two points in the second half.

Kruger said the presence of Foster and Utah’s post players “bothered” UNLV, and Willis echoed that sentiment. The Rebels were unable to find a rhythm offensively.

“They wanted us to drive inside to their big guys, and they chased us off the 3-point line,” Willis said.

Henderson made four 3-pointers and Brown buried a 3 with six seconds left to lift the Utes to a 33-31 halftime lead.

Willis scored 14 points in the first half, including 13 consecutive points for UNLV after it trailed 23-16.

“It’s very disappointing,” Stanback said. “But hopefully we will bounce back from this, and I’m sure we will.”

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

Utah 73

UNLV 69

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

Glover 15 3-5 1-2 7 0 0 7

Foster 28 4-5 5-7 6 1 2 13

Tavita 24 0-1 0-0 3 1 5 0

Henderson 38 5-13 0-0 2 0 2 15

Drca 35 1-6 8-9 5 4 3 10

Hines 0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Tillie 16 1-1 4-4 5 0 5 6

Brown 32 5-12 3-5 1 3 4 16

Washburn 12 2-6 2-2 2 1 3 6

TOTALS 200 21-49 23-29 34 10 24 73

Field goals–42.9%. Free throws–79.3%.

Three-point goals–8-16 (Henderson 5-9, Brown 3-5, Tavita 0-1, Drca 0-1). Team rebounds–3. Blocked shots–6 (Foster 6). Turnovers–14 (Tavita 3, Henderson 3, Brown 3, Drca 2, Glover, Washburn, Tillie). Steals–4 (Henderson 2, Tillie, Brown).

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

Stanback 33 4-10 6-7 10 0 2 14

Shaw 21 1-5 0-0 5 0 1 3

Bellfield 29 3-7 0-0 0 3 5 6

Jasper 15 2-5 2-4 1 0 5 6

Willis 39 7-16 13-16 6 4 1 27

Wallace 16 0-2 0-0 1 3 2 0

Marshall 18 3-7 1-4 4 1 3 7

Massamba 11 0-0 0-1 1 0 2 0

Jones 7 0-1 0-0 2 0 1 0

Hawkins 3 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2

Santee 8 2-3 0-2 4 0 1 4

TOTALS 200 23-57 22-34 37 11 23 69

Field goals–40.4%. Free throws–64.7%.

Three-point goals–1-12 (Shaw 1-2, Bellfield 0-1, Wallace 0-1, Stanback 0-2, Jasper 0-2, Willis 0-4). Team rebounds–3. Blocked shots–6 (Bellfield 2, Marshall 2, Jones, Jasper). Turnovers–10 (Willis 4, Stanback 2, Bellfield 2, Marshall, Shaw). Steals–6 (Willis, Stanback, Marshall, Bellfield, Massamba, Wallace).

A–16,594. Officials–Bob Staffen, Larry Spaulding, Tony Padilla. Technical fouls–None.

Utah 33 40 — 73

UNLV 31 38 — 69