Rebels fall to BYU, 77-73

And then came the crash, a sudden breakdown caused by empty possessions and various errors that turned the Mountain West Conference opener into another disappointment for the Rebels.

Willis scored a game-high 24 points but could not be the closer as Brigham Young staged a late rally to defeat UNLV 77-73 in an intense back-and-forth battle Wednesday night at the Marriott Center.

"We had the game. We had to find a way to win this," said Willis, emerging from the locker room wearing a stocking cap and a scowl. "That’s the difference between winning the conference and not winning the conference.

"We let the game slip away. We’ve got to find a way to win. That’s what good teams do."

Back on the road, the Rebels (12-3) next head to Albuquerque, where No. 15 New Mexico awaits on Saturday.

UNLV coach Lon Kruger, explaining how an opportunity was lost, said, "You’ve got to be able to finish it off."

The 25th-ranked Cougars (15-1) were the better team only in the final five minutes, which happened to be when it mattered most.

With junior guard Jimmer Fredette, the league’s scoring leading, weakened to the point of exhaustion after fighting strep throat for a week, BYU looked to two Las Vegas products to steal the show.

Jonathan Tavernari, a former Bishop Gorman High star, knocked down a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:45 remaining.

Michael Loyd Jr., a sophomore guard from Palo Verde, drove for a layup with 1:28 left to put the Cougars on top for good.

Tavernari, a senior forward, scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half. He played 30 minutes off the bench, grabbed nine rebounds and shot 4-for-8 from 3-point range.

But it seemed as if Willis would play the hero role. The junior guard grabbed a rebound and outraced the defense for a layup to put the Rebels ahead 68-62 with 5:55 to go, quieting a crowd of 15,546.

Tavernari made two free throws to trigger the Cougars’ comeback, and a 9-1 run was capped by his 3 that sent BYU in front 71-69.

Willis’ two free throws tied the score at 71 with 1:48 remaining.

Loyd responded by turning the corner on UNLV’s Oscar Bellfield and beating him to the rim for a layup.

"Mike made some big plays late in the game," Cougars coach Dave Rose said of Loyd, who contributed seven points in 16 minutes.

The efforts of Loyd and Tavernari helped offset an off night by Fredette, who shot 2-for-10 in 25 minutes and sat out key stretches in the second half. Fredette finished with seven points, well below his average of 21.6 per game.

"Jimmer was tired early. He had a tough couple days," Rose said. "We wanted to see what we could get out of him, and he played his heart out."

After Loyd’s layup, the Rebels’ botched an inbounds pass with a minute remaining. Bellfield threw high to Willis and the pass sailed away for a turnover.

"I saw the BYU player trailing Tre and I tried to throw it over the top. I don’t know what happened," Bellfield said.

Rose said the Cougars "switched everything out" and forced Bellfield to throw deep.

"Me and Oscar just weren’t on the same page," Willis said. "Things like that just can’t happen. In crucial points in the game, we’ve got to protect the ball."

Jackson Emery’s 17-foot jumper with 25 seconds to go just beat the shot clock and all but buried the Rebels.

Noah Hartsock scored 17 points and Tyler Haws had 12 for BYU, which pulled in 19 offensive rebounds and forced UNLV into 15 turnovers.

Willis shot 9-for-16 from the field, and hit two 3-pointers in the second half to lead the Rebels’ charge. He also had six rebounds, four assists and seven turnovers.

"Tre battled hard. He made big shots and big plays," Kruger said. "The miscues late, nobody feels worse about it than he does."

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