National Basketball Association
New Mexico 72, UNLV 67
When: 11:30 PM ET, Friday, March 9, 2012
Where: Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada
Officials:
# Larry Spaulding, # Eric Curry, # Scott Thornley
Attendance:
16339
By SportsDirect Inc.
New Mexico 72, UNLV 67: Drew Gordon had 19 points and 13 rebounds and Tony Snell scored 15 points as the Lobos defeated the Rebels to reach the Mountain West tournament title game.
Second-seeded New Mexico (26-6) overcame an early 13-point deficit as third-seeded UNLV (26-8) lost in its home building for the first time this season.
Anthony Marshall scored 19 points, Oscar Bellfield tallied 13 points and Mike Moser added 11 for UNLV.
New Mexico faces top-seeded San Diego State in Saturday’s championship game.
Demetrius Walker scored 12 points and hit two free throws with 1:35 to play to put the Lobos ahead to stay. Walker added two more free throws and Kendall Williams hit four in the final 26 seconds as New Mexico connected on 15 of 17 free-throw attempts.
Gordon scored five straight points to conclude an 18-8 run that saw New Mexico take a 64-56 lead with less than six minutes to play.
UNLV responded with eight consecutive points and tied the score on Marshall’s three-point play with 2:23 remaining.
UNLV scored the first 12 points and led 17-4 only 3 1/2 minutes into the contest. The Rebels led 29-20 with less than six minutes left before New Mexico ripped off 11 straight points to take its only lead of the half. UNLV rebounded to take a 34-31 halftime advantage.
GAME NOTEBOOK: New Mexico had a 41-25 rebounding edge and UNLV’s Moser had only three despite averaging 10.8 boards entering the contest. … The Rebels committed only three turnovers and forced the Lobos into 14 miscues. … Gordon, Moser and UNLV’s Chace Stanback all began their college careers at UCLA. … Walker has scored 31 points off the bench the past two games.
Top Game Performances
| New Mexico |
|
UNLV |
|
Drew Gordon 19 |
Scoring |
Anthony Marshall 19 |
|
Tony Snell 6 |
Assists |
Oscar Bellfield 6 |
|
Drew Gordon 13 |
Rebounds |
Brice Massamba 9 |
|
Demetrius Walker 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Anthony Marshall 10 |
|
Jamal Fenton 1 |
Steals |
Mike Moser 2 |
|
Cameron Bairstow 1 |
Blocks |
Mike Moser 1 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| New Mexico
|
72 |
52.0 |
5-16 |
15-17 |
20 |
38 |
2 |
1 |
13 |
| UNLV
|
67 |
35.6 |
8-24 |
17-22 |
11 |
24 |
1 |
4 |
3 |
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