New Mexico 76 - UNLV 66: Lobos destroy Rebels on the boards en route to key conference win

The New Mexico Lobos utilized a monstrous rebounding edge to gain a bit of revenge and hand UNLV a 76-66 defeat at the Thomas and Mack Center.  I should have expected a disappointing finish after the monster fail by CBS College Sports.  Tonight's UNLV-New Mexico game was scheduled to air on CBS College Sports at 8pm pacific time.  However, the women's game between TCU and Utah went an unfathomable four overtimes and due to what I can only imagine was a contractual requirement, the UNLV game didn't come on until the beginning of the second half.

Once the Rebels and Lobos finally came on, UNLV teased their fans before falling late.  The Lobos climbed out to an 18 point lead before a 20-4 run brought UNLV to within two points with 3:38 to go.  Five quick New Mexico points put the game out of reach for good as UNLV was destroyed on the boards 41-20.  This game was further proof that if a team gets physical on defense against the Rebels, it will be tough going for UNLV.

New Mexico received an especially balanced effort from their starters: Roman Martinez and Las Vegas-native Darrington Hobson each finished with 16 points, Dairese Gary put up 15 and Phillip McDonald knocked down 13 more.  Although Hobson was probably the player of the game with his double-double (16 and 13), Ramon Martinez seemed to be the go-to guy for a rally-killing 3-pointer.  New Mexico ran the same play that resulted in a swing around the perimeter to a wide-open Martinez.  And the three-pointer was one of the early differences.  New Mexico hit five straight 3s to start the game and finished 11-21 from beyond the arc.

As important as those 3s were, the rebounding was the real key, particularly on the offensive end where New Mexico managed 15 boards.  In fact UNLV had fewer defensive rebounds (14) than New Mexico had offensive rebounds.  This remains the Rebels Achilles heel.  While they might be able to win the conference tournament, if they run into a physical team they could easily find themselves heading home early.  While New Mexico dominated on the glass, they were a tough team on defense.

Tre'Von Willis finished with 13 points as he struggled to find open looks, particularly in the first half.  He had four points on 2-of-6 shooting in the first half, and ended up spending about 2/3 to 3/4 of the game having to dish off passes.  Although he did step up late on offense, it wasn't quite enough.  UNLV got some big baskets from Matt Shaw and Oscar Bellfield but they could never get over the hump and complete the comeback.

Up Next
UNLV: The Rebels schedule does not ease up, as they head on the road to face San Diego State this Saturday on VERSUS.  UNLV beat SDSU earlier this year, but were swept by the Aztecs last year.  Although UNLV's tourney chances remain fairly strong, a win at San Diego State would be quite the boon for the Rebels.  While a loss wouldn't kill their tourney chances by any stretch, it certainly wouldn't be a good thing, particularly since they then have to travel to face a Utah team that knocked them off in Las Vegas earlier this season.

New Mexico: After an 0-2 start in conference play, New Mexico has now rolled off 8 straight wins to take a half game lead in the conference standings.  They head to BYU at the end of the month in a game that will now likely determine the regular season conference title.  In the meantime, they head to Utah this weekend hoping to avoid a slip-up.  Although it's a road game, New Mexico is as hot as anybody in the country and there is no reason for them to lose the game.