Rebels hold off Gauchos in two-OT thriller

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- With hundreds of fans set to storm the court, UNLV senior Chace Stanback lofted a fadeaway 3-pointer. The ball seemed to float in slow motion before dropping through the net with the shocking effect of a lightning bolt.

"I was praying it would go in, and I was almost crying after it went in," Mike Moser said. "It was a beauty."

Four days after upsetting then-No. 1 North Carolina, the Rebels got tangled up in one of the most dramatic college basketball shootouts of the season's first month.

Moser totaled 34 points and 10 rebounds, and Stanback scored all of his 19 after halftime to lift 18th-ranked UNLV to a 94-88 double-overtime victory over UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday night, in a game featuring a wild finish in the Thunderdome.

"That's one of the craziest, if not the craziest, game I've ever played in," Rebels junior Anthony Marshall said. "It was very hectic."

UNLV (8-0) narrowly avoided an epic collapse, after blowing an eight-point lead in the final minute of regulation, and needed Stanback's shot with 1.5 seconds remaining to force a second overtime.

"That's a play where a guy says, 'If I don't make this shot, we go home with a loss,' " said Rebels coach Dave Rice, who was standing a few feet from where Stanback released the shot on the right wing. "It was a huge play."

Marshall missed a 3-point attempt from the top, and Stanback corralled a long rebound in the corner. He stepped back to create space from a defender as the clock ticked toward expiration.

"We were all just desperate. I was just trying to find any type of way to help my team. God put that shot in," Stanback said with a laugh. "I was fortunate enough to have it go in."

Stanback scored eight points in the first overtime and five in the second OT to help offset a 36-point performance by Gauchos star Orlando Johnson, who shot 11-for-24 and added 10 rebounds.

Stanback's three-point play put UNLV up 88-84 with 3:31 to go in the second overtime. Moser fouled out with 3:12 to play, and Johnson hit two free throws to close the gap. But the Rebels' Marshall had a strong response, driving the lane for a dunk.

"We had the game put away," Rice said.

Or so it seemed. Moser scored 25 points in the second half, including the Rebels' first 11 after halftime to help turn a 28-27 deficit into a 40-34 lead. His sixth 3-pointer put UNLV up 69-59 with two minutes to go.

But UCSB (4-2) mounted a furious rally in the final minute, pulling within 69-68 on Johnson's three-point play with 20 seconds left.

A careless pass by the Rebels' Oscar Bellfield was stolen by the Gauchos' Jaime Serna 20 feet from UNLV's basket. But Bellfield stepped in front of Serna, who was called for a charging foul to wipe out the potential go-ahead basket as the crowd of 5,516 roared.

Stanback's two free throws put the Rebels ahead by three with 8.1 seconds remaining. As instructed by Rice, Marshall fouled Johnson with 2.7 seconds left, and Johnson made the first free throw before UCSB coach Bob Williams used a timeout.

"My philosophy is to foul, because so many things have to go right for the other team," Rice said.

Johnson launched the second shot high off the rim, and the rebound was knocked around before 7-foot-3-inch Greg Somogyi grabbed it and dropped it in at the buzzer to force overtime.

"It was a little shocking," Moser said, "and then we all got kind of frustrated about it."

Moser shot 12-for-18 from the field, including 6-for-9 from 3-point range. He carried the Rebels most of the second half, and his 3 put UNLV on top 62-57 at the four-minute mark.

"Mike is a great player, and we were looking for him while he was hot," Stanback said. "It's a team effort, not just one player."

Moser, who hit just 2 of 17 3-pointers in the first seven games, told Stanback late in the second half it was the senior's turn to step up.

"In both overtimes, Chace was our man and our go-to guy," Moser said. "I haven't proven it just yet, but I can shoot 3s."

Moser made the Rebels' first 3-point attempt, but they followed with 11 straight misses from behind the arc.

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