Utah tried to follow up the trend with the lower seeds giving the higher seeds a tough game, but they ran out of gas in the second half. The Utes made a good effort in the first half to stay with UNLV, even when the Rebels were out ahead by 13 Utah made a charge to close the gap. The score was 31-30 in favor of UNLV with 18:10 left in the second half when the Rebels went on a 18-3 run and never looked back. During this run Utah was unable to slow down the Rebel attack due to turnovers, offensive fouls, and unable to score on offense.
UNLV Uses Strong Second Half To Defeat Utah
UNLV’s pressure defense caused havoc for the Utes all night. Forcing 15 turnovers and holding the overmatched Utes to a dismal 32 percent shooting. Tre’von Willis and Anthony Marshall led the balanced effort for UNLV with 13 points each. MWC Defensive Player of the Year, David Foster, had the biggest impact for the Utes with 6 points, 5 rebounds and 2 blocks. Carlon Brown also added 12 points.
With this win UNLV gained revenge against the Utes who somehow swept the two game series this season. The Rebels are pretty much a lock to make the NCAA tournament and their semi final game against BYU will be intense since the two schools have a heated history in tournament games over the past few years.
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