Cold-shooting Rebels rally for 23-21 halftime lead

UNLV’s first home sellout crowd in over 16 years didn’t have a whole lot to cheer about in the first half on Saturday night at the Thomas & Mack Center … until the final three minutes.

The Runnin’ Rebels, who jumped out to a quick 9-4 lead, managed just seven points over a 11 minute span after that as BYU rallied to take a 21-16 lead.

But UNLV ended the half with a 7-0 spurt over the final 2:36 to take a 23-21 halftime lead.

Wink Adams started the late streak with a pair of free throws. Joe Darger followed with a 3-pointer from the top of the key to tie it with 1:00 left and then Rene Rougeau gave UNLV the lead with a layup off a nice pass from Tre’Von Willis with just two ticks left on the clock.

Willis (6 points, 6 rebounds) and Darger (6 points, 2-of-3 3-pointers) led the Rebels. UNLV led despite shooting just 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from the floor. BYU wasn’t much better connecting on just 32.3 percent (10-of-31) of its shoots.