Clutch steal seals deal in UNLV’s win over Aztecs

A double-digit lead had disappeared, and UNLV appeared dazed and confused on the offensive end. So it was up to junior guard Justin Hawkins to make a last defensive stand.

"One stop and we win the game," Hawkins said, "and that's what happened."

As San Diego State point guard Xavier Thames crossed half court and set his sights on tying or winning the game, Hawkins cut him off and stole the ball with three seconds remaining to cap a dramatic ending Saturday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Hawkins' offensive rebound and defensive stop in the final 12 seconds lifted the 14th-ranked Rebels to a 65-63 victory over the 13th-ranked Aztecs before an electric sellout crowd of 18,577.

After blowing a 13-point lead with 15 minutes to go, UNLV needed Hawkins' heroics to survive a frantic finish and stop a six-game losing streak in the series.

"What we want to do is put teams away," said sophomore forward Mike Moser, who led the Rebels with 19 points, nine rebounds, six steals and four blocked shots. "We needed our best defensive player to get the game-winning steal, and we didn't want to be in that position."

UNLV (22-4, 6-2) moved up one position to tie San Diego State (20-4, 6-2) and New Mexico atop the Mountain West Conference standings, but the Rebels' climb nearly resulted in a free-fall.

Moser's layup put UNLV up 49-36 five minutes into the second half. But that's when Chase Tapley got hot and shot the Aztecs back into it, scoring 16 of his game-high 22 points in the final 15 minutes.

Playing with a comfortable lead, the Rebels started firing jumpers -- and missing jumpers -- until there was no lead. San Diego State made a spirited charge and went ahead 63-62 on Tapley's 3 from the left wing with 1:30 remaining.

"He's got no fear," Aztecs coach Steve Fisher said of Tapley, who hit 4 of 7 3-pointers. "He can get in a rhythm and make hard shots. When he makes one, and the next one, you better watch out."

With the crowd on edge, Anthony Marshall missed a 3 on UNLV's next possession, and the Aztecs found themselves in control with less than a minute to go.

But Thames was stripped by Moser on a drive into the lane and lost the ball, and Marshall went the other way for a layup to give the Rebels a 64-63 edge with 37 seconds to go.

After a San Diego State timeout, Jamaal Franklin dribbled on the right baseline and backed down Chace Stanback. As Franklin spun to the basket, Stanback swatted the ball away with 15 seconds to play. UNLV gained possession, and Stanback was fouled with 12 seconds left.

Stanback missed the first free throw, but the 6-foot-3-inch Hawkins soared over Franklin to snag the rebound and was fouled with 10.4 seconds on the clock.

"Justin never gives up on any play," Rebels coach Dave Rice said.

Hawkins made the first free throw and missed the second, then made the defensive stop to save the game. Ironically, Rice had a sit-down talk with Hawkins on Monday and told him it was time to regain his defensive swagger.

"He challenged me on the defensive end and said no one should score on me no matter what," Hawkins said. "I was upset that I missed the second free throw, but I knew I couldn't give up on the play."

Up 37-29 at halftime, UNLV built on its lead by feeding Brice Massamba in the low post. The senior center scored the team's first 10 points of the second half. But Massamba's lip was busted and bleeding, and he was forced to the bench at the 13-minute mark.

"It was just easy baskets for me," Massamba said. "But I knew San Diego State is a team that is not going to back down and will keep coming at you."

The Rebels, who hit 1 of 11 3-pointers in the second half, stopped attacking the basket and made only three field goals -- a Stanback jumper, Moser dunk and Marshall layup -- in the last 11 minutes.

"We guard hard," Fisher said. "We kept it a pace that gave us a chance to win."

The Aztecs were foiled by 17 turnovers. The Rebels limited their turnovers to eight, and senior Oscar Bellfield finished with 15 points and six assists.

"It was a situation where we couldn't find a way to make a shot, but we still hung in there," Rice said. "It seems like this becomes the norm when our two teams play that it comes right down to the wire.

"Our guys were tired of answering the questions why we lost six in a row and nine of 10. Every game has been just like this, where it could have gone either way. It's a very, very big win."

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