Rebels stun New Mexico in thriller, 71-66 — PHOTOS

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Trailing by three points Tuesday with 3½ minutes left, UNLV already had done more than expected by putting itself in position to win.

But could a struggling basketball team, a 10½-point underdog, make the plays to win in one of the toughest venues in the Mountain West?

The Rebels answered the question with a strong finishing run, upsetting New Mexico 71-66 at WisePies Arena/The Pit.

UNLV (9-9, 2-3 MW) finished with a 10-2 run. The Rebels had lost four of five.

“Any win is an important win in the state of flux we are with our guys,” UNLV coach Marvin Menzies said. “We’re a little beat up with the losses. We entered the conference saying till we’re mathematically eliminated, we’re going to try to compete for a championship ourselves.

“The thing these guys hung their hat on is they really stayed together through some adversity, through some injuries, through missing some guys. They’ve hung in there through it all. Every once in a while when you do the right thing, you get the verdict you worked for.”

On the other side, the pressure increases on New Mexico coach Craig Neal, whose Lobos (9-8, 2-3) already were reeling after blowing a 14-point lead late in Saturday’s loss to UNR.

Menzies changed the starting lineup, with point guard Jovan Mooring and forward Cheickna Dembele receiving starts in place of guard Kris Clyburn and forward Tyrell Green. Mooring finished with 19 points, six assists and five steals.

UNLV began its late rally from 64-61 down on Jalen Poyser’s game-tying 3-pointer and Mooring’s steal and layup for a three-point play to take the lead for good.

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