Rebels rise in final minute

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As the clock ticked down, UNLV freshman Oscar Bellfield plotted his attack. He could see the path he had to take to make the biggest shot of his life.

And the scene unfolded exactly how he scripted it, with a perfect ending.

Bellfield’s layup with 16 seconds remaining lifted the Rebels to a stunning 56-55 upset over 18th-ranked Louisville on Wednesday night at Freedom Hall.

With UNLV trailing by one point, the 6-foot-2-inch Bellfield darted down the right side of the lane and banked in a floater over 6-9 Cardinals forward Samardo Samuels.

"I was planning on taking it to the basket," Bellfield said. "Some way, I had to get around him and get the ball up. I had to leap a little higher to get over him and try to finish."

Bellfield produced a dramatic end to the Rebels’ biggest win of the season. He said it was his first game-winning shot since middle school.

"This beats all of them by 10 times," he said, smiling.

UNLV (12-2) was able to celebrate after surviving Louisville’s last shot. Terrence Williams drove hard to the basket and missed from close range, and the Rebels’ Joe Darger grabbed the rebound to secure the victory.

"We saw time running out, and we were going crazy all over the court," said Rene Rougeau, who led the Rebels with 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots. "I’m just speechless right now."

UNLV sophomore guard Tre’Von Willis scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half.

The Cardinals, ranked No. 3 in the nation in the preseason, dropped to 8-3, including 7-1 at home.

"That’s a real, real disappointing loss for us," Louisville coach Rick Pitino said. "Our guys are just devastated over it. It’s a real disheartening way to bring in the new year."

The Rebels, 13-point underdogs, pulled off the feat without senior guard Wink Adams, the team’s leading scorer. Adams, recovering from a lower abdominal strain, was a game-time decision to sit out.

"This win was definitely for Wink. We wish he could have been there to play with us, and he wanted to be out there very bad," Rougeau said. "I had a feeling they were going to take us for granted seeing that Wink wasn’t going to be playing.

"That was a great win, especially without Wink. That just shows the capability of this team."

Willis and Bellfield made back-to-back 3-pointers to open the game, and Rougeau’s fast-break dunk put UNLV up 10-0 after three minutes.

Louisville missed its first 11 field goals before Edgar Sosa scored on a short jumper that was goaltended by Rebels freshman DeShawn Mitchell.

After a dunk by Mitchell, Rougeau scored four points, and Bellfield made a jumper in the lane to give the Rebels their largest lead at 22-7.

"I was surprised how we started off, and they really didn’t seem like they were into it," said Bellfield, who finished with eight points and four assists. "They were missing a lot of layups."

Rougeau scored 12 points, and UNLV dominated on the defensive end to take a 32-21 halftime lead. The Cardinals, who shot 6-for-26 in the half, slowly crept back into it.

Williams made two free throws to give Louisville its first lead, 48-47, with 4:31 left.

Willis responded by hitting a 3-pointer to put the Rebels back in front 51-50 at the four-minute mark.

"When they made that big run, the coaches and players were yelling, ‘We’re going to win this game,’ " said Willis, who made 7 of 8 free throws down the stretch. "This team is very mentally tough, and that won this game for us.

"We controlled the entire game from start to finish."

Bellfield came up with a steal with 40 seconds to go, setting up his winning layup over Samuels that silenced the crowd of 19,314.

"Oscar made a tough shot," UNLV coach Lon Kruger said. "To win this battle in a tough environment is pretty darn good."

Preston Knowles made three 3-pointers and totaled 11 points to lead Louisville, which shot 16-for-54 (29.6 percent) from the field.

"I’m sure a lot of people did count us out," Bellfield said. "We used it as motivation."

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