No. 11 Rebels blow huge lead, lose at TCU in overtime

FORT WORTH, Texas -- It was not exactly a called shot, but Hank Thorns had a feeling something memorable could unfold Tuesday.

Thorns, Texas Christian's senior guard and a former Valley High School standout, walked up to UNLV's Anthony Marshall just before tipoff and told his childhood friend, "This is going to be a good one tonight."

As it turned out, the 5-foot-9-inch Thorns sold himself a little short. He was about to play the game of his life.

With his team down 18 points and left for dead in the second half, Thorns led a stunning comeback and finished with a career-high 32 points as the Horned Frogs stuck the 11th-ranked Rebels with a 102-97 loss in overtime.

Thorns hit 8 of 12 3-pointers and his eight points in overtime included a high-arcing 3 that put UNLV in a five-point hole with 1:21 to go.

"My dream came true," he said. "It was a dream for me to do this, to beat these guys."

After the buzzer sounded, "I cried," Thorns said.

About 100 students ran onto the floor at Daniel-Meyer Coliseum, where 4,710 fans witnessed TCU's first victory over a ranked team since February 2007.

"We can't storm the court, but we made it drizzle," Thorns said with a laugh.

The Rebels (22-5, 6-3) fell with a thud to third place in the Mountain West Conference. Seemingly in control while leading 68-50 with 14 minutes remaining, their collapse must have felt like a cruel joke.

"It's a painful, painful loss for us," said UNLV coach Dave Rice, who expressed disappointment in his team's lack of a "killer instinct."

A smaller but more determined TCU team pounded the Rebels inside and collected 19 offensive rebounds -- a number Rice called "inexcusable" -- as Thorns threw in outside shots from all angles.

"We had them down and we didn't keep them down," Marshall said. "Hank's a special player. When he gets hot like that, he makes things happen."

The Horned Frogs (15-10, 5-4) continued to trim their deficit until Thorns' 3-pointer capped an unlikely comeback and tied the score at 83 with 2:55 remaining in regulation. Amric Fields had a shot to break the tie, but his 3-point try was long with 12 seconds left, and Oscar Bellfield rebounded for the Rebels.

After a UNLV timeout, Bellfield was stripped in the lane, and Thorns led a fast break with 2.5 seconds to go. But time expired as Thorns got about 15 feet from the basket, sending the Rebels to overtime for the third time in five conference road games. They played with fire and survived overtimes at Boise State and Air Force.

Thorns scorched them this time. He opened the extra session with a layup, and UNLV slowly unraveled.

"We ran with them," Thorns said. "We gave them a dose of their own medicine."

The Rebels led 48-43 before scoring the first eight points of the second half on Brice Massamba's three-point play, Chace Stanback's 3-pointer and Marshall's layup. A Bellfield 3-pointer extended the run to 18-5 with 14:52 remaining.

But Massamba was forced to the bench after picking up his fourth foul with 9:50 remaining, and the Rebels' offensive execution short-circuited without their senior center.

"I thought that changed the whole game because Brice was in such a good rhythm," Rice said. "We still need to be strong enough and tough enough with a lead to protect it."

Mike Moser totaled 22 points for UNLV. Marshall and Stanback each scored 17, Bellfield finished with 16 and Massamba had 12. The Rebels shot 53.3 percent and made 12 of 25 3-pointers, but their defense deteriorated after halftime.

"It's hard to put it in perspective when you're down 18 points to the 11th-ranked team in the country," TCU coach Jim Christian said. "Hank just made some phenomenal plays. You can't beat UNLV unless everybody who steps on the floor plays their 'A' game."

Thorns had plenty of help as four other Horned Frogs hit double figures, including Fields with 17 points and J.R. Cadot with 16. Still, it was Thorns who put the exclamation points on the victory.

"He made some shots at the end of the game that nobody could guard," Rice said. "But we gave him confidence early in the game."

Five years ago, Thorns wanted to stay home to play at UNLV, where his dad, Henry, was a football standout.

"He wanted to be a Rebel. Lon Kruger told him to walk on," Henry Thorns said of the former UNLV coach.

Rice, then a Brigham Young assistant, recruited Thorns, but the point guard went to Virginia Tech for a year before transferring to TCU.

"He definitely tried to get me. I love Dave Rice. But I didn't want to go to BYU," Thorns said. "Anthony is like a brother of mine. I told him to keep his head up because they are a great team."

Clutching the game ball, Thorns walked with his dad out of the arena and into the darkness of a memorable night.

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