Rebels fizzle at finish line, fall to Aztecs

SAN DIEGO — A sizzling start by freshman guard Patrick McCaw provided the spark UNLV needed. For a while, he carried his team. At the finish line, when he needed help, it was nowhere to be found.

The Rebels’ upset bid, and any false hopes they were clinging to about contending in the Mountain West, fizzled and went up in smoke.

“I think we started losing intensity down the stretch,” McCaw said.

After losing an 11-point second-half lead, UNLV completely collapsed on both ends of the floor and fell to San Diego State 53-47 on Saturday at Viejas Arena, where the floor sits in a pit and where the Rebels were left buried in the conference standings.

Rashad Vaughn scored 17 points, McCaw had 12 of his 15 in the first half, and Goodluck Okonoboh added 11 for UNLV (10-8, 1-4 MW). There was little else to add.

In losing for the fifth time in six games, the Rebels got two points apiece from Chris Wood and Cody Doolin, and nothing from their reserves. The 6-foot-11-inch Wood spent 32 minutes on the floor and had little to show for it.

“I think we got pretty tired at the end,” Vaughn said. “At the end, we lost it.”

The Aztecs (14-4, 4-1) won it by being more physical in the low post and stronger down the stretch, closing with a 13-4 run.

San Diego State, fourth in the nation in scoring defense, pressured full court for the entire game, forced 16 turnovers and ran a supposed running team ragged.

“Under five minutes, that’s pretty much crunch time,” said Aztecs junior forward Winston Shepard, a versatile defensive menace. “We have to make big-time plays, and I thought that’s what we did.”

Aqeel Quinn scored 14 points and JJ O’Brien totaled 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Aztecs, who trailed 24-17 at halftime but rallied in the final seven minutes with the help of an energetic crowd of 12,414.

McCaw came up with a steal and fed Okonoboh for a dunk two minutes into the second half. Vaughn added a 3-pointer to put UNLV up 33-22 with 17:33 remaining.

“It’s a 40-minute game, and you’ve got to be a grinder,” San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. “The (Rebels) love this atmosphere. They love this stage to be on. They were skipping around and excited to be here. It wasn’t a false bravado, because they knew they were going to come out and play pretty well, and they did.”

As expected, the Aztecs rallied, closing the gap to 40-37 on Angelo Chol’s layup, and O’Brien’s layup tied the score at 40 with 8:11 left.

With the fans roaring and the momentum shifting, McCaw briefly stemmed the tide by drilling a 3-pointer from the corner as UNLV went back in front, 43-40, with 7:56 to play.

However, San Diego State regained the lead — its first since 5-2 — on Quinn’s running bank shot with 5:09 to play. The Aztecs had won 132 consecutive games when leading with five minutes left, and they were about to extend that streak to 133.

Vaughn’s free throws with 4:51 remaining were the Rebels’ final points until Doolin drove for an uncontested layup in the final seconds. In an offensive meltdown, UNLV hit only 2 of 15 field goals to finish the game.

After Okonoboh picked up his fourth foul at the 4:44 mark, San Diego State attacked him at the basket. Wood, uninspired and not leaving his feet to contest shots, offered no help.

O’Brien hit a short jumper before Chol and Shepard scored inside on back-to-back possessions as the Aztecs surged ahead 51-45 with three minutes to go.

“We fought hard, and we just came up short in the game,” said McCaw, who shot 6-for-11 and had six rebounds and three steals in 37 minutes. “I was really hoping that we would come out and play hard. The guys were ready for this game.”

McCaw, in the starting lineup for the second time this season, led the charge to help the Rebels control most of the first half. An hour before tipoff, coach Dave Rice announced the move to start McCaw in place of senior Jelan Kendrick, and the switch paid off immediately. UNLV shot 10-for-17 (58.8 percent) from the field, with McCaw shooting 5-for-7.

“I think we all see how special Patrick is going to be,” Rice said. “I thought he was phenomenal.”

The Aztecs, who shot 6-for-24 and missed all six of their 3-point attempts in the first 20 minutes, heated up and shot 54 percent after the half.

Despite McCaw’s hot steak, San Diego State extended its home win streak to 25 games and improved to 83-1 in its past 84 home games versus unranked opponents.

“Patrick gave us a big lift. We just kept going to him,” Vaughn said. “We came out focused. That was a big step for us as a team. If we come out and play how we played today, we should get some wins.”

But it was another step back for Wood, a sophomore forward who was invisible when his team needed him to be a big presence.

“They were physical with him. Chris is a good player, and he’s still adjusting to the fact he’s drawing a lot of attention,” Rice said.

“It was just difficult down the stretch for us.”

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.