Rebels get by on road

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SANTA CLARA, Calif. — In jeopardy of being upset on the road, UNLV again looked to junior guard Tre’Von Willis for an answer.

Willis made a go-ahead 3-pointer with 4:04 remaining as the 24th-ranked Rebels rallied to defeat Santa Clara 66-63 on Saturday night at the Leavey Center.

Willis scored all of his 14 points in the second half, helping UNLV overcome a 10-point deficit and improve to 7-0.

"We always know we can come back and win the game," Willis said. "We never think otherwise."

The Rebels also got clutch contributions from Matt Shaw and Kendall Wallace. Shaw hit 4 of 4 free throws down the stretch, and Wallace connected on a 3-pointer with 3:10 left.

"We were fortunate to dodge a bullet tonight," coach Lon Kruger said.

Willis turned in another strong performance, three days after he tied his career high with 25 points — 23 after halftime — in the Rebels’ double-overtime victory at Arizona.

"Tre just carried us there through a stretch in the second half when we needed it," Kruger said. "He has played awfully well for us."

Willis’ 3 put UNLV ahead 59-58, and Wallace’s shot extended the lead to four.

After the Broncos (4-4) cut their deficit to one, Shaw hit two free throws with 1:03 to go. Two free throws by Santa Clara’s Marc Trasolini and a missed jumper by Willis allowed the Broncos a chance to win.

Robert Smith drove the left side of the lane but was cut off by Willis, who forced Smith into a tough shot with five seconds left. Willis got a hand on Smith’s miss and the Rebels rebounded.

After a timeout, Shaw was fouled on an inbounds pass with 3.8 seconds to go, and he made both free throws. Santa Clara’s Raymond Cowels got open for a tying attempt and released a 28-footer that bounced off the back of the rim at the buzzer.

UNLV, trailing 39-31 at halftime and 43-33 early in the second half, went on a 12-0 run and took the lead on Willis’ 15-foot jumper with 14:36 to go.

Oscar Bellfield scored 10 of his 15 points in the first half, which disintegrated into the Rebels’ worst of the season. They were outscored 15-3 at the foul line and dominated 24-11 in rebounds.

Those figures didn’t improve much the rest of way. Santa Clara outscored UNLV 21-11 at the foul line and finished with a 42-28 rebounding edge.

"They just outfought us, and that’s the thing you can’t ever let happen. They just whipped us on the boards," Kruger said. "I thought we battled better in the second half."

The Broncos were without leading scorer Kevin Foster, a sophomore guard averaging 19.8 points. Foster was on crutches after breaking a bone in his right foot in Tuesday’s game at UC Santa Barbara.

Foster was listed as a probable starter and Kruger said he didn’t know for certain that Foster would be out until just before the game.

In the first half, Willis played only four minutes and did not attempt a shot after picking up two fouls.

"Sitting on the bench the whole first half is very frustrating," said Willis, who shot 5-for-9 and had five assists. "We weren’t playing very good, and we were basically letting them dictate the game. We were very angry."

The 6-foot-9-inch Trasolini worked the middle effectively. He made 11-for-14 free throws and scored 22 for Santa Clara.

UNLV is off until playing Kansas State on Saturday at the Orleans Arena.
 

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