UNLV senior Wendell White (5) rises over Georgia Tech's Zach Peacock, right, and Javaris Crittenton to score during the second half of the teams' NCAA Tournament Midwest Regional first-round game Friday in Chicago. White scored the tiebreaking basket with 1:11 remaining, and UNLV won, 67-63. Photo by The Associated Press

CHICAGO -- In so much pain he was struggling to breathe, senior forward Wendell White elevated over two defenders and dropped in the shot that defined UNLV's season.

After 16 years of frustration, the Rebels can exhale, finally able to enjoy an NCAA Tournament victory.

"It's a big win for the program," White said, "and we want to keep on going."

White's tiebreaking layup with 1:11 remaining lifted UNLV to a 67-63 victory over Georgia Tech in the Midwest Regional first round Friday before a crowd of 18,237 at the United Center.

The Rebels hadn't won an NCAA Tournament game since March 23, 1991, when Jerry Tarkanian was coach. His team was on top of the college basketball world at the time -- and, now, the program he built is back on the map.

Seventh-seeded UNLV (29-6) advanced to play second-seeded Wisconsin (30-5) in the second round at 11:36 a.m. Sunday. The Badgers overcame an 18-point deficit to beat Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 76-63.

After allowing a 14-point lead to disappear, the Rebels displayed the same determination that has made this a memorable season, knocking out the 10th-seeded and favored Yellow Jackets (20-12) with a series of hustle plays in the final two minutes.

White scored the go-ahead points off an inbounds pass from Kevin Kruger, who was positioned under the basket. Kruger bounced the ball high, and White outfought two defenders to grab it and lay it in while being fouled.

"Nothing is going to hold me down," said White, who finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and a bruised left rib that had him in agony.

"I was gasping for air. It hurts when I breathe."

With the game tied at 59 and 1:33 to play, White rebounded his missed jumper. He missed another shot, but senior center Gaston Essengue pulled it down and passed to Wink Adams, who missed a 3-point try from the wing.

Adams chased after the loose ball and, while diving out of bounds, threw the ball off Georgia Tech's Javaris Crittenton as UNLV retained possession.

"I had to sacrifice my whole body," Adams said.

White was injured on the play after taking an elbow to his ribs. But during a timeout, Rebels coach Lon Kruger drew up the inbounds play that resulted in White's basket.

"The rebounding was the turning point," Yellow Jackets coach Paul Hewitt said, referring to the Rebels' 44-41 backboard edge. "There were several opportunities where they missed three or four shots and we just couldn't get our hands on the ball."

On the next possession, Adams pressured Crittenton near midcourt and drew a 5-second closely guarded call.

Adams missed a layup, but Essengue grabbed one of UNLV's 24 offensive rebounds and was fouled. Essengue made both free throws with 36 seconds to go.

After a layup by the Yellow Jackets' Zach Peacock, Michael Umeh hit two free throws and the Rebels' Joel Anthony blocked a shot off Crittenton to set off a celebration.

"It was a grind-it-out game. It just came down to toughness," said Anthony Morrow, who hit Georgia Tech's only three 3-point shots and finished with 11 points. "UNLV showed a lot of toughness at the end."

The Yellow Jackets took their first lead with 3:32 remaining when Morrow made two free throws to make the score 58-57.

That's when White showed the most toughness. He scored on an aggressive drive to put the Rebels back in front with 2:28 left.

"Wendell made some big-time plays at critical times," Lon Kruger said. "He ripped it and drove to the bucket and really finished some plays with authority."

White shot 8-for-12 from the field, an effort UNLV desperately needed on a day when the team shot 19-for-60 (31.7 percent).

At the eight-minute mark, White scored on a baseline drive, then stole the ball and passed ahead to Curtis Terry for a layup. Umeh followed with a 3-pointer to put the Rebels ahead 55-48.

Umeh tied White with a game-high 19 points. White scored 14 points on 7-for-9 shooting after hearing halftime motivation from Essengue.

"Gaston said, 'You need step up your game,' and I took that kind of personal," White said. "I was ready for it and I took the challenge."

White said X-rays on his rib revealed a deep bruise but no break, and he plans to play Sunday.

"I thought our guys really kept battling," said Lon Kruger, the second coach in UNLV history to win an NCAA Tournament game. "It wasn't a game in which we shot the ball well or anything came easy, but that has not been unusual for this team. We've been a little inconsistent shooting the ball all year.

"But the effort and the fight and the grit has been consistent."

Despite the early-morning tip-off, the Rebels were wide awake and ran out to an 11-4 lead in the first four minutes. Umeh triggered the fast start by hitting three 3-pointers.

UNLV's used its quickness to force the Yellow Jackets into careless mistakes. Adams, who finished with 13 points, came up with a steal off full-court pressure and passed to White for a dunk, pushing the margin to 14.

Kevin Kruger made two free throws -- his first points of the game -- to make the score 31-17. Georgia Tech retaliated by pounding the Rebels on the offensive boards, going on a 9-0 run.

Umeh hit two free throws to stem the momentum and send UNLV into the half with a 33-26 edge.

Kevin Kruger shot 0-for-8 from 3-point range but hit 5 of 7 free throws and had eight assists.

Crittenton and Thaddeus Young, the Yellow Jackets' star freshmen and leading scorers, were limited to eight points apiece.

"Every game this year, we've always had something to prove," Adams said. "We can't celebrate too much because Wisconsin has a great team."

UNLV 67

Georgia Tech 63

GA. TECH Min FG-A FT-A R A PF TP

Smith 34 2-4 1-3 10 0 4 5

Young 32 3-12 2-2 3 1 2 8

Dickey 11 1-2 1-2 3 0 2 3

Crittenton 30 4-11 0-0 5 6 1 8

Morrow 26 3-9 2-2 6 0 2 11

Bell 12 1-4 1-2 1 1 1 3

Peacock 19 3-7 0-3 4 2 2 6

Aminu 16 5-8 1-1 5 0 5 11

West 19 3-4 2-2 1 1 4 8

TOTALS 199 25-61 10-17 41 11 23 63

Field goals--41.0%. Free throws--58.8%.

Three-point goals--3-11 (Morrow 3-6, West 0-1, Peacock 0-1, Crittenton 0-3). Team rebounds--3. Blocked shots--4 (West, Morrow, Aminu, Bell). Turnovers--11 (Crittenton 4, Dickey 2, Young 2, Smith, Peacock). Steals--6 (West 2, Crittenton 2, Morrow, Aminu). Technical Fouls--None.

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

Essengue 16 1-4 4-4 6 0 4 6

Adams 34 3-13 4-5 4 2 1 13

Kruger 37 0-8 5-7 1 8 3 5

Umeh 34 5-12 5-6 2 1 1 19

White 35 8-12 3-5 8 1 2 19

Bailey 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

MLawrence 3 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0

Rougeau 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 1 0

Anthony 18 0-2 0-0 6 0 3 0

Terry 12 2-5 0-0 1 2 2 5

Shaw 6 0-1 0-0 2 0 1 0

Darger 3 0-3 0-0 1 1 2 0

TOTALS 201 19-60 21-27 44 15 20 67

Field goals--31.7%. Free throws--77.8%.

Three-point goals--8-30 (Umeh 4-8, Adams 3-8, Terry 1-3, Darger 0-3, Kruger 0-8). Team rebounds--12. Blocked shots--5 (Anthony 2, Essengue 2, Umeh). Turnovers--9 (Kruger 3, Adams 2, White 2, Umeh). Steals--5 (Umeh 2, White 2, Adams). Technical Fouls--None.

A--18,237. Officials--Edward Corbett, Richard Randall, Paul Faia.

Georgia Tech 26 37 -- 63

UNLV 33 34 -- 67