Green lifts Rebels to 68-61 win over Southern Illinois

UNLV Rebels forward Tyrell Green (3) and UNLV Rebels guard Jovan Mooring (30) go to catch a rebound during a game against Southern Illinois at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016 in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

Southern Illinois Salukis guard Mike Rodriguez (1) passes to teammate Southern Illinois Salukis guard Armon Fletcher (22) during a game against the UNLV Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

Southern Illinois Salukis guard Mike Rodriguez (1) attempts to slip past UNLV Rebels guard Jovan Mooring (30) during a game at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

UNLV Rebels guard Kris Clyburn (1)and Southern Illinois Salukis forward Austin Weiher (15) reach to catch the ball during a game at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

UNLV Rebels coach Marvin Menzies at the sidelines of a game against the Southern Illinois Salukis at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

UNLV Rebels guard Jovan Mooring (30) attempts to pass Southern Illinois Salukis forward Rudy Stradnieks (24) and Southern Illinois Salukis (1) during a game at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

Southern Illinois Salukis forward Austin Weiher (15) and UNLV Rebels forward Cheickna Dembele (11) dive for the ball during a game at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

Both the UNLV Rebels and Southern Illinois Salukis wait to catch a rebound during a game at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

Southern Illinois Salukis forward Thik Bol (40) goes to shoot against UNLV Rebels forward Troy Baxter Jr. (31) during a game at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

UNLV Rebels guard Jovan Mooring (30) dribbles past opponents during a game against the Southern Illinois Salukis at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

UNLV Rebels guard Jovan Mooring (30) goes to shoot against Southern Illinois Salukis guard Armon Fletcher (22) during a game at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

UNLV Rebels guard Kris Clyburn (1) goes to shoot against Illinois Salukis forward Thik Bol (40) during a game at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

UNLV Rebels guard Jovan Mooring (30) prepares to dribble past opponents during a game against the Southern Illinois Salukis at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

Southern Illinois Salukis guard Armon Fletcher (22) goes to shoot during a game against the UNLV Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

UNLV Rebels guard Jovan Mooring (30) steals the ball from Southern Illinois Salukis guard Leo Vincent (5) during a game at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

Southern Illinois Salukis guard Sean Lloyd (13) goes to shoot during a game against the UNLV Rebels at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016, in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

Southern Illinois Salukis guard Leo Vincent (5) passes UNLV Rebels forward Cheickna Dembele (11) to shoot during a game against Southern Illinois at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016 in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

Southern Illinois Salukis guard Mike Rodriguez (1) passes the ball during a game against UNLV at the Thomas & Mack Center on Monday, Dec. 19, 2016 in Las Vegas. (Rachel Aston/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @rookie__rae

More Stories

Aces players come together on a timeout against the Phoenix Mercury during the first half of th ...

Graney: WNBA has responsibility to investigate LVCVA’s deal with Aces

UNLV Lady Rebels center Desi-Rae Young (23) shoots against Creighton Bluejays forward Morgan Ma ...

Ex-Lady Rebels star explores options after being cut by Mercury

Former Rebel Hunkie Cooper, now a member of the staff, poses for a photo at Fertitta Football C ...

Ex-football great highlights UNLV’s Hall of Fame class

UNLV forward Rob Whaley Jr. (5) gets animated on the bench as UNLV leads during a second-round ...

UNLV men’s basketball earns invite to prestigious 2025 tournament

By MARK ANDERSON LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL

December 19, 2016 - 11:59 pm

Committing a season-high 23 turnovers, UNLV gave itself more drama than necessary.

Then the Rebels took care of the late-game dramatics by making the clutch plays down the stretch, scoring the final seven points to beat Southern Illinois 68-61 on Monday at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Tyrell Green, who tied a career high with 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, put the Rebels ahead for good at 64-61 with 1:11 left.

“Those moments are always fun as a player,” Green said. “Everyone’s cheering. I would’ve been cheering somebody else if they had hit it. It’s a great feeling overall as a team to see a guy make that shot in that moment.”

After Green’s, Jovan Mooring made a terrific steal of an inbounds pass and drove most of the court for the layup. He later made two free throws for the final points.

UNLV (7-5) clinched a winning nonconference record, with just a Thursday home game against No. 3 Kansas remaining. Then the Rebels go into Mountain West play following Christmas.

This game against Southern Illinois (6-6) completed this season’s Mountain West-Missouri Valley Challenge. Each conference won five games.

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