MW rankings: Pack remains at No. 2; Rebels lose a two-OT thriller

The UNLV Rebels found themselves in one of the strangest and most frustrating games in recent memory on Saturday.

The Rebels, No. 8 in this week’s Nevada Appeal Mountain West rankings, fell to the Saint Mary’s Gaels, 69-67, in double overtime on a last-second layup.

But that was just the final play in an extremely unusual night in the Jerry Colangelo Classic in Phoenix.

“We didn’t get back,” said UNLV coach Kevin Krueger of the final play on which Saint Mary’s Jordan Ross passed the ball to Mitchell Saxen for a layup to win the game.

The rest of the game at the NBA’s Phoenix Suns’ Footprint Center was not as easily explained.

UNLV, first of all, made just 3-of-24 shots from the floor in the first half. The Rebels scored just 14 points in the first 20 minutes but fortunately trailed by just six at the half because the Gaels missed 26-of-33 shots.

“Twenty points is what you want,” said UNLV’s Justin Webster, who had 16 points in a grueling 43 minutes. “But on the other (offensive) side we just didn’t execute well.”

UNLV outscored Saint Mary’s 36-30 in the second half but the only reason the game went to overtime was because the Gaels didn’t have a field goal for the final 3:38.

The only reason the game went to a second overtime was because the Gaels’ Rory Hawke missed a free throw with 49 seconds to go. He made his second free throw to tie the game at 59-59 give UNLV 49 seconds to win the game.

UNLV’s Dedan Thomas, though, turned the ball over with 33 seconds to go and Saint Mary’s Luke Barrett missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

It was that type of game.

Saint Mary’s had an unbelievable edge in second-chance points (31-4) due to an even more unbelievable 68-33 advantage on the boards. UNLV made 15 of its last 30 shots after halftime to end up 18-of-54 (33 percent) from the floor.

“We didn’t quite have that same bounce to us early,” said Krueger of the Rebels’ first-half offensive struggles.

“I’d like to see us execute better in both halves,” Webster said, “and make the game a little easier.”

Six players (three on each team) ended up fouling out. UNLV was just 3-of-14 on threes but Saint Mary’s was a horrendous 1-of-19. The Gaels were also just 18-of-31 from the line while UNLV was 28-of-37.

UNLV is now just 4-5 after starting 10-0 last season.

No. 1 Colorado State (10-1) trampled CSU Pueblo, 86-54. Four Rams scored between 13 and 18 points led by Isaiah Stevens’ 18.

The Rams were missing two starters. “We had no choice but to tinker with the lineup with guys out,” Colorado State coach Niko Medved said. “But it’s great for other guys to get some minutes.”

No. 2 Nevada (9-1) won at Hawaii, 72-66, on Sunday night behind 16 points from Jarod Lucas. No. 3 San Diego State (9-2) whipped Saint Katherine 91-57 on Tuesday night after not playing last week because of final exams.

No. 4 Utah State (11-1) outlasted San Francisco, 54-53, behind 20 points and eight rebounds from Ian Martinez. Utah State, though, missed 19-of-21 3-pointers.

No. 5 New Mexico (10-1) also squeezed past New Mexico State, 73-72, despite missing half (11-of-22) its free throws. J.T. Toppin led the Lobos with 18 points and 11 rebounds.

No. 6 Boise State (8-3) pounded Fullerton, 88-65, in front of a home crowd of 9,178. Max Rice led the Broncos with 24 points.

The victory was Boise State’s school-record 20th in a row at home. The previous record of 19 was also set after beating Fullerton in 1999.

“That’s quite a streak, quite an accomplishment,” Boise State coach Leon Rice said. “It’s a credit to our fans.”

The Broncos have now won five in a row.

“That first half, man, we were clicking,” Rice said of the Broncos’ season-high of 54 points in the first 20 minutes. “You can see how the parts of this team are really coming together. We guarded well, we took the right shots, we rebounded. Our guys had a great approach.”

No. 7 Air Force (7-4) dropped a 76-73 decision to UT-Arlington in Fort Worth, Texas. Rytis Petraitis led Air Force with 21 points.

Three Mountain West teams suffered disappointing losses last week at home to Big Sky Conference teams.

No. 9 San Jose State (6-6) fell to Montana, 86-75, No. 10 Wyoming (6-4) lost 84-71 to Weber State and No. 11 Fresno State (6-5) was beaten by Portland State, 75-72, in overtime.

“It’s always disappointing to lose, especially on your home floor,” San Jose State coach Tim Miles said.

Weber State, which made all 15 of its free throws, was coming off a 72-55 loss at Nevada just three nights earlier.

“After a tough loss to Nevada, I knew they were going to give us a real good effort,” Wyoming coach Jeff Linder said. “I told our guys that but sometimes (players) just have to feel it for themselves. We will learn from this.”

Portland State beat Fresno State on a 3-pointer by K.J. Allen at the buzzer. Portland State scored the final 10 points of the game over the final two minutes as Fresno State wasted a 72-65 lead.

The Nevada Appeal Mountain West men’s basketball rankings for the week of Dec. 18:

1. COLORADO STATE (10-1, 0-0): Last week: Colorado State 86, CSU Pueblo 54 (Dec. 17). This week: Colorado State at Loyola Marymount (Dec. 22).

2. NEVADA (9-1, 0-0): Last week: Nevada 72, Hawaii 66 (Dec. 17). This week: Nevada vs. Temple at Honolulu (Dec. 21); Nevada vs. TCU or Old Dominion at Honolulu (Dec. 22); Nevada vs. TBA at Honolulu (Dec. 24).

3. SAN DIEGO STATE (9-2, 0-0): Last week: No games. This week: San Diego State 91, Saint Katherine 57 (Dec. 19), Stanford at San Diego State (Dec. 21).

4. UTAH STATE (11-1, 0-0): Last week: Utah State 54, San Francisco 53 (Dec. 16). This week: East Tennessee State at Utah State (Dec. 22).

5. NEW MEXICO (10-1, 0-0): Last week: New Mexico 73, New Mexico State 72 (Dec. 15). This week: UC Irvine at New Mexico (Dec. 20).

6. BOISE STATE (8-3, 0-0): Last week: Boise State 88, Fullerton 65 (Dec. 17). This week: Boise State at Washington State (Dec. 21).

7. AIR FORCE (7-4, 0-0): Last week: UT Arlington 76, Air Force 73 (Dec. 16). This week: Northern Colorado at Air Force (Dec. 21).

8. UNLV (4-5, 0-0): Last week: Saint Mary’s 69, UNLV 67, 2 OT (Dec. 16). This week: Hofstra at UNLV (Dec. 21).

9. SAN JOSE STATE (6-6, 0-0): Last week: Montana 86, San Jose State 75 (Dec. 17). This week: Santa Clara at San Jose State (Dec. 20).

10. WYOMING (6-4, 0-0): Last week: Weber State 84, Wyoming 71 (Dec. 16). This week: South Dakota State vs. Wyoming at El Paso, TX (Dec. 20); Wyoming vs. UTEP or Norfolk State at El Paso, TX (Dec. 21).

11. FRESNO STATE (6-5, 0-0): Last week: Portland State 75, Fresno State 72, OT (Dec. 17). This week: Fresno State at San Francisco (Dec. 22).