One-man show fails to upstage Kansas

OMAHA, Neb. -- In the biggest game of UNLV's season, when everything was on the line, junior guard Wink Adams filled his role as the go-to guy. He played as if there would be no tomorrow if he failed.

The Rebels had several other problems, however, and their season is over today.

"Nobody really thought we would get this far," Adams said.

Adams took UNLV as far as he could, scoring a game-high 25 points Saturday in a 75-56 loss to Kansas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament's Midwest Regional.

The top-seeded Jayhawks (33-3) played up to their role as the better all-around team, using a seven-player swarm to overcome Adams' individual brilliance.

The eighth-seeded Rebels shot 26.7 percent from the field, and that spelled the end of their 27-8 season.

"We hung in there for a while against an outstanding team," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. "It was just a terrific year."

Mario Chalmers scored 17 points to lead Kansas, which advanced to the Sweet 16.

The Jayhawks shot 29-for-50 (58 percent) from the field and used their superior athletic ability and size advantages to win the battles on both ends of the floor.

Adams shot 5-for-13 from the field, 15-for-17 on free throws and had three of the Rebels' six assists. He needed more assistance from his teammates.

Senior point guard Curtis Terry finished his UNLV career by scoring 12 points. Terry made 3 of 10 shots, but his only basket of the second half came on a 3-pointer with 2:40 remaining.

The Rebels shot 12-for-45 -- their second-worst shooting performance of the season -- and made only four field goals after halftime.

"Wink was successful getting into the paint and creating for us. That was working for us, so we just kept going with it, and Wink did a great job of carrying us in the second half," Terry said.

But the second half was when Kansas pulled away. The Jayhawks, who led 34-29 at halftime, blew open the game with a 15-6 run that started at the 12-minute mark.

"We came out in the second half fully expecting to do some things better," Kruger said.

Adams hit two free throws to bring UNLV within 46-41 with 12:20 to play. But Russell Robinson scored six of his 13 points during Kansas' decisive run.

The Rebels' defense broke down as Robinson, Chalmers, Brandon Rush and Sherron Collins repeatedly drove for easy baskets. Rush finished with 12 points and Collins 10.

The Jayhawks outscored the Rebels 38-10 in the paint and held a 36-26 edge in rebounds. The Kansas big men -- Darrell Arthur, Darnell Jackson and Sasha Kaun -- combined for only 21 points and 16 rebounds as it was the guards who did the most damage.

"I thought it was a great game for us, because we didn't exactly execute the game plan," Jayhawks coach Bill Self said. "We didn't get the ball inside with as many touches as we wanted."

UNLV was decimated in the middle late in the game as Joe Darger fouled out with 9:33 left and Rene Rougeau got his fifth foul with 6:49 to go. Darger finished with eight points, and Rougeau had four points and eight rebounds.

"That's one of the best defensive teams we've played," Rougeau said. "Their guards got out on our shooters, and every time I drove inside there were two guys there. We were battling with them, but they just had so many weapons."

Adams tried to keep the Rebels within striking distance with his battering-ram drives to the basket. He went to the free-throw line two fewer times than the Kansas team, which hit 12 of 19.

"It was one of those nights when guys weren't shooting hot," Adams said. "I was able to get to the goal and get to the free-throw line, and Curtis told me to just keep going."

Adams made 13 of 15 free throws in the second half.

"Our defense was really great when we didn't foul them, which was every other possession," Self said. "In the second half, it looked to me like they went to Wink most every possession. I don't know what they told him, but I'm sure it was, 'Drive it, drive it, drive it.'

"We really thought the key to their team -- Darger is a great shooter, and Rougeau is a tough matchup -- we thought that Terry and Adams were the key to controlling them."

Terry opened the scoring with a 3-pointer and accounted for UNLV's first seven points. Adams' steal and layup tied it 15-15 at the 9:09 mark.

"It turned into a great ride we went on, and it's a great experience we went through," Terry said. "I'm definitely sad to have played my last game."

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

Kansas 75

UNLV 56

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

Bailey 26 0-1 1-3 1 1 3 1

Darger 27 3-7 0-0 2 1 5 8

Adams 38 5-13 15-17 3 3 0 25

Rougeau 28 1-4 2-2 8 1 5 4

Terry 39 3-10 3-4 3 0 1 12

Rutledge 6 0-2 0-0 2 0 0 0

Wallace 19 0-2 0-0 2 0 2 0

Hoffman 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Cage 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Shaw 15 0-6 6-8 3 0 4 6

TOTALS 200 12-45 27-34 26 6 20 56

Field goals--26.7%. Free throws--79.4%.

Three-point goals--5-22 (Terry 3-8, Darger 2-6, Wallace 0-1, Adams 0-3, Shaw 0-4). Team rebounds--2. Blocked shots--1 (Rougeau). Turnovers--10 (Darger 3, Terry 2, Rougeau 2, Bailey, Rutledge, Wallace). Steals--6 (Darger 2, Rougeau 2, Rutledge, Adams).

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

Arthur 33 4-8 1-2 5 1 3 9

Jackson 25 2-4 4-6 9 0 4 8

Robinson 27 4-5 4-5 3 2 4 13

Chalmers 34 6-11 3-5 4 2 3 17

Rush 36 5-10 0-1 6 3 5 12

Teahan 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Collins 27 5-8 0-0 2 1 1 10

Case 2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Reed 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

Kaun 10 2-3 0-0 2 0 4 4

Aldrich 3 1-1 0-0 0 0 2 2

Kleinmann 1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0

TOTALS 200 29-50 12-19 36 9 26 75

Field goals--58.0%. Free throws--63.2%.

Three-point goals--5-13 (Rush 2-3, Chalmers 2-7, Robinson 1-2, Collins 0-1). Team rebounds--5. Blocked shots--1 (Arthur). Turnovers--10 (Arthur 4, Collins 2, Rush, Jackson, Robinson, Chalmers). Steals--7 (Robinson 3, Chalmers 2, Arthur, Reed).

A--17,162. Officials--Leslie Jones, J.D. Collins, Terry Wymer. Technical fouls--UNLV: None. Kansas: None.

UNLV 29 27 -- 56

Kansas 34 41 -- 75