56°F
weather icon Clear

Rebels lose Zimmerman, double OT game at Fresno State

FRESNO, Calif. — UNLV already was small going into Saturday’s game, and the Rebels got even smaller.

They already were short-handed, then watched Stephen Zimmerman Jr. get helped off the basketball court.

They trailed by 17 points midway through the second half, all hope seemingly lost.

But UNLV somehow made a game of it with players accumulating minutes like snow during a blizzard.

By the time the game reached a second overtime at the Save Mart Center, the Rebels had little left to give, their chances falling as short as their shots as Fresno State took charge and won 111-104.

“I’m extremely proud of the guys,” UNLV interim coach Todd Simon said. “Their effort and their attitudes are off the charts. We didn’t like the outcome, we’re never going to like losing, but to be short-handed, awfully small at times, facing a lot of adversity here on the road … I can be proud of that with this group.

“These guys left it all out there.”

The loss was the fourth in five games for UNLV (13-11, 4-7 Mountain West).

Fresno State (15-8, 6-4) outscored UNLV 19-12 in the second overtime. The 215 combined points were the most in a Rebels game since they beat New Mexico 120-117 in three overtimes in the 2002 Mountain West tournament.

Two Rebels had double-doubles — Patrick McCaw with 28 points and 16 rebounds and Derrick Jones Jr. with 14 points and 11 boards. Ike Nwamu finished with 27 points.

Marvelle Harris scored 37 points to lead the Bulldogs.

The next big question for UNLV is whether Zimmerman, who sprained his left knee midway through the first half, will be ready when the Rebels play San Jose State on Wednesday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The 7-foot freshman walked without crutches after the game, and the injury didn’t appear to be as severe as the torn left anterior cruciate ligament that Ben Carter suffered Jan. 30 against San Diego State.

It was the Carter’s injury that forced UNLV to go with a smaller lineup and prompt the coaches to consider playing a 2-3 zone defense. Then when Zimmerman went out, there was little choice.

Not only did UNLV go small, and outrebounded the Bulldogs 60-51, the Rebels went to that zone late in the first half, and except for a possession or two, stayed with the defense throughout.

“I think the zone really slowed them down,” McCaw said.

The Rebels, indeed, mostly got what they wanted out of the zone in forcing the Bulldogs to take longer shots — except they kept making them. Fresno State made 53.8 percent of its shots in the second half, taking a 72-55 lead with 10:07 left.

But that’s when UNLV, which shot 52.6 percent in the second half and scored 58 points, got hot as well, especially Nwamu.

This had been an emotional week for Nwamu, whose former Mercer teammate, Jibri Bryan, was fatally shot Tuesday. Nwamu switched his jersey number from 0 to 34 to honor his friend.

“It meant a lot to me to be able to get a jersey so fast and to be able to play with it,” Nwamu said.

Nwamu made five 3-pointers in a 5½-minute span to bring UNLV to within 82-81 with 4:16 left.

The Rebels led 88-86 when Harris scored on a layup with 35 seconds left to tie the game.

UNLV called timeout to set up a final play, but McCaw lost control of the ball before finding a way to get it to Jones, who in the scramble tried to get up a 10-foot shot. But the shot didn’t drop, and the game headed for overtime, the first for UNLV since a 79-77 home victory over Utah State on Jan. 24, 2015.

The Rebels grabbed an early three-point lead in overtime before Fresno State tied the game. Neither team scored in the final 1½ minutes, and the Rebels soon found themselves playing in the first double-OT game since winning 94-88 at UC Santa Barbara on Nov. 30, 2011.

By the time the Rebels reached the second overtime, they were gassed, the short-handed lineup with little left to give. Four players were on the floor for more than 40 points, with McCaw logging 47 minutes, as Fresno State took over.

“It was tough,” McCaw said. “I know guys were tired, but mentally, we battled. We got past tired. We got mentally locked in and ready to face a challenge. I know we were really hungry to win this game.”

— Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.

Don't miss the big stories. Like us on Facebook.
THE LATEST