Runnin’ Rebels defeat UTEP 62-60

EL PASO, Texas - With the final few seconds ticking away, Konner Tucker got loose for an open look from 3-point range and let the deciding shot fly.

How a once-lopsided game came down to a last shot was surprising enough. But there was Tucker, a Texas-El Paso shooting guard with a hot hand, set to stun No. 21 UNLV.

"It felt like one of those movies," Anthony Marshall said. "The ball is in the air, everything slows down and you can't hear anything."

The next sound was from the ball banging off the rim. It was not exactly the script Marshall and the Rebels had in mind, but they were satisfied with the dramatic ending after escaping with a 62-60 victory over the Miners on Monday night at the Don Haskins Center.

"Anytime you play on the road, it's going to be tough," said Marshall, a senior point guard. "It's always nice to win and learn a lesson."

UNLV (9-1) ran its winning streak to seven, but the game tape won't be confused with any classic movies.

Tucker shot UTEP back from a 15-point second-half deficit, only to see his last attempt, and his team's unlikely rally, fall a little short. Bryce Dejean-Jones rebounded the miss to finish the game on his second chance.

Dejean-Jones, who led the Rebels with 12 points, misfired on two free throws with 15 seconds remaining.

"I had to ice the game," Dejean-Jones said. "We have to make our free throws. But we found a way to pull through."

Marshall added 11 points for UNLV, which overcame an off night by freshman forward and leading scorer Anthony Bennett, who scored nine of his 10 points in the second half. All of freshman guard Katin Reinhardt's 10 points came in the first half.

It was Bennett's 3-pointer that put the Rebels ahead 38-23 with 17:24 remaining. Threatening to pull away, they instead squandered most of the lead.

Tucker sank a 3 to pull the Miners within 46-40 with 9:32 to go, and they hung around until Julian Washburn's three-point play cut UNLV's lead to 60-56 at the 2:46 mark.

The Rebels' next basket, a putback by Quintrell Thomas with 2:07 left, was their last. Point guard Jacques Streeter scored on a pair of driving layups, the second with 37 seconds to go, to put UTEP in position to win.

"I'm proud of the win, but we need to get better," UNLV coach Dave Rice said. "We've got to learn on both ends of the floor how to play with a lead. We lost our focus in the second half on the defensive end. We've got to do a better job of keeping our composure on the road."

The Rebels held a lead for the final 34½ minutes despite rarely finding an offensive rhythm and scoring only 10 fast-break points. The Miners used a matchup zone defense and deliberate offense to slow the pace.

Marshall and Reinhardt each made two 3-pointers to help stake UNLV to a 31-22 halftime lead.

"At the end it was kind of ugly, but that's how it is on the road," said Dejean-Jones, who hit some key shots for the Rebels in the second half but also was hit with a technical foul that helped UTEP turn the momentum.

Sophomore center Khem Birch debuted for UNLV, but he did not make a major impact. The Pittsburgh transfer finished with four points and three rebounds in 14 minutes off the bench.

Bennett, averaging 20.3 points, was held to one point in the first half and shot 2-for-9 from the field and 5-for-6 on free throws.

Washburn's 13 points led the Miners (3-5). Tucker, in his return from a broken shooting hand, finished with 12 points and one big miss as the clock expired.

"I feel like that game was lost in the first half. We just played really foolish offensively," UTEP coach Tim Floyd said. "I liked the look we got late from Konner, but we didn't get it down."

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