UNLV falls to third in league with stunning home loss

There were hugs, smiles and tears. Families walked the red carpet as fans applauded. It was an unforgettable Senior Day, especially for Kevin Foster.

Soon after UNLV’s three seniors were honored, one from Fresno State unceremoniously crashed the party.

Foster connected on his first six 3-pointers and totaled 25 points and 10 rebounds as the Bulldogs stunned the Rebels 61-52 on Saturday before 17,707 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

“It wasn’t the way we want to go out,” said UNLV senior Justin Hawkins, who, along with Anthony Marshall and Quintrell Thomas, will remember his final regular-season home game as fondly as a nightmare.

The Rebels (23-8, 10-6 Mountain West) fell to the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament and will face No. 6 Air Force at noon Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack. The Falcons knocked off league champion New Mexico on Saturday.

But that was nowhere near as surprising as what happened in Las Vegas, where UNLV’s 14-game home win streak was stopped by a 14-point underdog.

Foster, a 6-foot-8-inch senior forward who showed up averaging 8.2 points, hit five 3s and totaled 19 points in the first half. Kevin Olekaibe, a junior guard from Cimarron-Memorial High School, finished with 13 points and eight assists as the Bulldogs (11-18, 5-11) swept the regular-season series.

Marshall and junior forward Mike Moser each had 11 points for the Rebels, who shot 33 percent and did not make a field goal in a clumsy final 9½ minutes.

“I believe Fresno State is the hardest playing, toughest team in our league,” UNLV coach Dave Rice said. “A very disappointing performance from us. I feel the worst for our three seniors. The crowd was fantastic to come out and honor our three seniors, and we didn’t do our part.”

The Rebels made a season-low 18 field goals and none after freshman Katin Reinhardt’s 3-pointer sliced Fresno State’s lead to 47-45 with 9:52 remaining. From that point, UNLV shot 0-for-10, including eight misses from 3-point range, and had three turnovers.

“I don’t think there’s any magic formula you can come up with in terms of trying to stop those guys,” Bulldogs coach Rodney Terry said. “If you can limit them to one shot, then I think you have an excellent opportunity to be successful against them. Also, we took away some of their transition stuff and made them try to score five-on-five.”

The Rebels shot 4-for-21 from 3-point range and 12 of 20 on free throws, with Rice blaming a lack of ball movement and poor shot selection for the offensive breakdowns.

“We settled for too many jump shots,” Rice said. “We just lost our patience. We panicked a little bit on the offensive end. We were out of sync.”

Meanwhile, Foster and Olekaibe were in rhythm, combining to hit 8 of 8 3-pointers as Fresno State took a 36-31 halftime lead. Twenty seconds into the second half, Foster buried his sixth 3.

“One of our keys to the game was limiting their 3-point makes,” Rice said. “Foster got on a hot streak. A lot of credit goes to him for making those shots.”

After Tyler Johnson and Robert Upshaw staged a dunk competition to embarrass the UNLV defense, the Rebels fought back before Moser missed a potential tying 3-pointer with two minutes left. Foster’s driving layup in the final minute gave the Bulldogs a six-point lead and sent thousands of fans to the parking lot.

“This loss really hurts,” Marshall said. “We’ve got to grow up fast.”

Moser and freshman forward Anthony Bennett also likely played their final home game for the Rebels, with each expected to enter the NBA Draft this summer. Bennett, his left shoulder wrapped, scored five points in only 17 minutes.

“His shoulder is definitely bothering him,” Rice said, explaining why UNLV’s most talented player spent a majority of the game on the bench.

Long before Foster started draining 3s, Rice suspected trouble. He said he sensed something was amiss Thursday afternoon.

“I told our staff I was very concerned about our team,” Rice said. “I don’t question anyone’s character, and I don’t ques tion anyone’s desire to win. I just think our immaturity showed up again, as it has all season long.”

Hawkins, who screamed at Reinhardt after a second-half turnover by the freshman, said he sensed it, too.

“We’ve been through the highs and lows,” Hawkins said, Marshall sitting at his side. “I knew if we kept thinking we’re too good to play basketball, it would come back and bite us in the butt. So, hopefully this will be a wake-up call.”

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.