Rebels hold off No. 22 Rams, 61-59, on Marshall’s shot in final seconds

None of the six shots Anthony Marshall had missed crossed his mind when the game was on the line. His next shot had a chance to be one of the most memorable of his UNLV career.

The senior guard dribbled to his right, rose from 15 feet and released a perfect left-handed stroke.

“I just stepped up with confidence,” he said. “As soon as it left my hand, I knew it was good.”

Marshall’s jumper with nine seconds remaining lifted the Rebels to a 61-59 victory over 22nd-ranked Colorado State on Wednesday, the second thrilling finish in five days at the Thomas & Mack Center.

“I think it is the first time I hit a shot like that,” Marshall said after sinking his first winning shot in 128 games at UNLV.

But it was not a done deal until Daniel Bejarano missed a 3-point try from the wing at the buzzer for the Rams, who charged back from a 13-point deficit to take the lead with just over three minutes to go.

Bryce Dejean-Jones and Katin Reinhardt each had 15 points for the Rebels (20-7, 7-5 Mountain West). Dejean-Jones and Reinhardt did most of their work in the first half.

Marshall finished the job, scoring eight of his 11 points after halftime. But he was struggling through a night to forget until the final minute.

“That was certainly far from his best performance,” UNLV coach Dave Rice said after Marshall shot 3-for-9 from the field, including 1-for-7 from 3-point range, and had four of the team’s 17 turnovers.

Rice still made Marshall the primary option on the Rebels’ last possession, which started with 39 seconds on the clock. Marshall rebounded Dorian Green’s missed 3-pointer and dribbled out about 20 seconds before triggering the play.

“It was probably good we didn’t have a timeout because we didn’t allow them to set up a defense,” Marshall said. “My coaching staff and teammates have got all the faith in the world in me to make a play.”

UNLV center Khem Birch moved out to set a screen on the left wing, and when Green went under it Marshall dribbled to the right elbow and took the shot before Green could recover to fully contest it.

Rice said the play call was for Birch to screen high and “let Anthony go to work” in space.

“There were a couple options on the play, but he read it and got an open shot,” Rice said.

Colorado State (21-5, 8-3) reversed the ball around the perimeter, from Green to Wes Eikmeier to Bejarano, whose open 3 was long at the buzzer, allowing a crowd of 15,910 to celebrate another close call.

The Rebels, who escaped with a 72-70 victory over San Diego State on Saturday, ran their record to 15-1 on their home floor.

“The crowd gave us great energy in the second half when we desperately needed it,” Rice said.

Colton Iverson, a strong 6-foot-10-inch center, finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and led the Rams’ comeback.

After trailing 32-21 at halftime, Colorado State tied the score at 40 on Green’s 3-pointer with 13:14 to play. UNLV answered with a 9-2 run, capped by Savon Goodman’s reverse layup, but the final five minutes turned into a back-and-forth battle in which the score was tied four times.

The Rams took their first lead of the second half, 55-53, on Bejarano’s putback with 3:20 remaining.

Dejean-Jones rebounded Marshall’s 3-point miss from the corner and his layup tied it at 59 with 1:07 to play.

Colorado State, the nation’s No. 1 rebounding team, was outrebounded (38-31) for the first time in 26 games this season.

Dejean-Jones, who scored 13 of the Rebels’ first 15 points, and Reinhardt accounted for 23 of the first 25 points for UNLV.

Anthony Bennett, the Rebels’ leading scorer at 18 points per game, was limited to eight points. Birch finished with six rebounds and six blocks.

“We came out in the second half a little flat,” Rice said, “and it’s something we’ve dealt with all season long.”

Another season-long problem for the Rebels has been winning on the road, and they carry that baggage to Wyoming on Saturday.

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