 "Photo: Mike Mangum")
After figuring in hundreds of different statistics, factors and equations before Saturday night’s game, the Las Vegas oddsmakers put the UNLV Rebels on the board against the Runnin’ Utes as 11-point favorites.
Utah head coach Jim Boylen had a much simpler way of predicting who would win the game: “Usually in Vegas, the games come down to which team makes the most 3s,” Boylen said Thursday before the game.
When the dust had settled, it was Boylen who proved to have the clearer crystal ball, as his team held UNLV to one of 12 from downtown and went eight of 16 to earn a stunning 73-69 victory on the road.
“We have had some unreal games against (UNLV),” Boylen said. “We talked about getting a lead with under five minutes remaining and closing the game out, and we did that. There was a great crowd in here tonight. It was a great atmosphere.”
The win for the Utes is arguably one of the most impressive under Boylen, coming on a hostile court against one of the Mountain West Conference’s top teams just three days after they lost to New Mexico 74-57 in Albuquerque.
“After our loss at New Mexico, we’ve met and practiced, met and practiced,” Boylen said. “Winning on the road is about toughness. You have to be mentally tough, and we were not tough enough at New Mexico, but tonight we grinded it out and did enough to win. I thought our defense was awesome at times.”
With the exception of UNLV’s junior guard Tre’Von Willis, who scored a career-high 27 points to lead all scorers, the Utes were able to keep the rest of the Rebels under control. Including its disastrous percentage from behind the arc, UNLV shot barely more than 40 percent for the game. The Utes are now 8-2 on the season in games where they hold their opponent under 41 percent from the field.
For Utah, Carlon Brown, Luka Drca and David Foster all stepped up big in the second half to pace their team to victory. Foster scored a career-high 13 points to go with his six rebounds and six blocks, and he hit two free throws to put the Utes up 70-67 with 36 seconds remaining.
“Foster was terrific tonight,” Boylen said. “He made some big free throws and defended the front of the rim. We had that with Luke Nevill, and we have that with David.”
Brown led the Utes with 16 points, and Drca added 10 points, eight of which came at the free-throw line. Boylen praised his team as a whole for its free-throw shooting, particularly in crucial moments, finishing 23 of 29 for the game.
As solid as the Ute defense was throughout the game, it was a hot streak from Marshall Henderson that set the tone early on. After battling for the first 10 minutes of the game, neither team could separate itself from the other, and UNLV held a one-point lead at 11-10. However, things changed quickly when Henderson caught fire, scoring 12 consecutive points for the Utes on four 3-pointers, giving the Utes a nine-point lead. That lead was cut down to two going into halftime.
Before the game started, the Utes knew that they would be at a disadvantage, with forward Jay Watkins absent to attend his step-father’s funeral. The team hoped that the return of senior Kim Tillie would lesson the effect of Watkins’ absence. Boylen said that going into the game, there was no way to know if Tillie would be effective, having undergone arthroscopic knee surgery just 11 days earlier, but the results were pleasing. In 16 minutes, Tillie finished with six points and managed to pull down five rebounds.
“Tillie is a physical specimen,” Boylen said. “He is as athletic as UNLV but is bigger. He was great tonight. I thought Carlon Brown and Luka Drca did what they had to do for us to get a win.”
After the tough week on the road, Utah will enjoy two straight home games, starting with San Diego State on Tuesday night at 8 p.m.
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