Rebels rally in second half behind Adams, stun BYU

PROVO, Utah — In a stunning turnaround that even he thought improbable, Wink Adams shot life into UNLV and resurrected his senior season.

Down 13 points at halftime and seemingly on the verge of being counted out Wednesday night, the Rebels rallied behind Adams for a 76-70 upset victory over Brigham Young at the Marriott Center.

Adams, who scored a game-high 22 points, called the comeback “very surprising,” and that can be considered an understatement.

“It’s an amazing feeling. I can’t really explain it right now,” he said. “I never won here. You don’t see many teams walk out of here with a win.”

The Cougars’ 25-game home winning streak against Mountain West Conference opponents was stopped cold.

Adams scored eight points during UNLV’s 25-5 run to open the second half, when BYU went 11 minutes without a field goal.

Sophomore guard Tre’Von Willis added 13 points and junior forward Darris Santee 11 as nine players scored for the Rebels (15-4, 3-2 MWC).

Adams, who shot 7-for-16 from the field and 8-for-10 on free throws, played up to his status as the preseason co-Player of the Year in the conference.

He shared that honor with Cougars senior Lee Cummard, who finished with 10 points but none in the second half.

One week after an embarrassing loss at Colorado State, UNLV set its record straight by winning on one of college basketball’s most unforgiving home courts. BYU had won 55 of its previous 56 at home.

“Our whole thing is we haven’t been playing to our potential yet,” Adams said. “But this was definitely a big step.”

Adams beat the shot clock with an 18-foot jumper that put the Rebels ahead 64-58 with 2:04 remaining.

After the Cougars cut their deficit to 70-67 with 23.8 seconds left, Cummard drew a technical foul for slapping the ball out of Rene Rougeau’s hands as he was trying to make an inbounds pass.

Adams made a free throw, and Joe Darger made two more to push UNLV’s lead to six points.

Jonathan Tavernari’s 3-pointer brought BYU (14-4, 2-2) within 73-70 with 10 seconds to go. Freshman guard Oscar Bellfield was fouled and hit two free throws to clinch it for the Rebels.

Jimmer Fredette beat the halftime buzzer with a 3-pointer to put the Cougars ahead 43-30. They shot 18-for-35 (51.4 percent) in the half and held a 21-12 advantage in rebounds.

“Down 13, and BYU was doing whatever they wanted to do,” UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. “(The lead) is going to go up to 18 or down to eight, and that’s a big swing, obviously.”

The Rebels turned into the aggressors in the second half, putting together what Rougeau said was “probably the best” stretch of play of the season, and the game took a dramatic turn in their favor.

“We took away passes, and we took away their transition. We definitely did a good job going for defensive rebounds,” Rougeau said. “Everybody did a good job rebounding in the second half.”

Freshman center Brice Massamba’s layup put UNLV up 55-48 with 9:06 remaining.

Darger hit a 3-pointer to help trigger the spurt. Adams hit two free throws, made two reverse layups and knocked down a 17-foot jumper over Cummard. Rougeau’s jumper tied it at 48 with 12:12 left.

Adams’ free throw put UNLV ahead 58-50 with 6:59 to go. In the first 14 minutes of the second half, the Cougars shot 1-for-17 with their only basket being Jackson Emery’s 3-pointer at the 16:43 mark.

“It’s dismal,” Cummard said. “That’s not like us.”

Willis’ 3-pointer from the corner stretched the Rebels’ lead to 61-52 with 5:20 left.

Fredette, a sophomore guard, had 15 of his 19 points in the first half. Tavernari shot 7-for-22 and finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds.

“In the first half, we came out focused and with a lot of energy. The second half was different,” Cummard said. “They got us out of our rhythm. We couldn’t stop them.

“Wink played great. He’s a tough guy, and he definitely gets up for big games.”

Adams had eight rebounds as UNLV held a 25-12 edge on the boards after halftime. He said Kruger’s halftime speech was motivating.

“At halftime,” Adams said, “he wasn’t really excited about how we played.”

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